A group that supports parents and caregivers of youth who struggle with addictions and mental health is reaching out to Renfrew County families in a new way.
Parents Lifeline of Eastern Ontario (Pleo) has announced a new Mobile Support Group which will travel to various places in the county to offer in-person support sessions. Its first meeting is 6:30 p.m., April Tuesday, 18 at the Bonnechere Union Public Library in Eganville.
Bonnie Schryer, a Peer Parent Supporter with Pleo, says the sessions mark a return to in-person support, which was missing throughout the pandemic.
“It’s just a safe place for parents to talk and share and have an opportunity to perhaps hear something that works from another parent; a place they went to, a doctor they saw, a treatment they did. And it’s about connecting.”
Schryer says Pleo supports parents caring for youth or young adults under 25, with many different addictions, and that includes struggles with cannabis. The Mobile Support Group will be in a different community on the third Tuesday of every month, throughout the summer. It’s planning to host a meeting in Barry’s Bay in August.