Free Zoom Course for Families Dealing with Substance Abuse to Begin

Stacey Karchner, a Family Recovery Life coach through the BALM (Be A Loving Mirror) Family Recovery Program, will teach a free seven-week course for those affected by another’s addiction/substance use.

The course will be held online through Zoom on Mondays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. once a week for seven weeks. Enrollment is free, and the course will begin May 11.

Karchner said the course is funded by Blair Drug and Alcohol in Altoona.

“BALM evolved around the fact that those with Substance Use Disorder are human beings and deserving of love just as any other person is,” Karchner said. “At the core of BALM is loving kindness. Being the loved one’s chief supporter rather than the obstacle, just as a family would with any other disease the loved one had. As a family member it’s important to be a model of recovery and to regain peace and calm, believe that the loved one can get well, and learn ONLY to contribute to recovery.”

Karchner has been a Family Recovery Life coach for more than three years and has been teaching the course for two years with success.

The course Karchner will teach in the community is a component of the BALM program consisting of 12 lessons.

She said that through the course she sees family members find a new perspective and learn new ways of being, acting and speaking without anger and judgement.

For more information or to enroll in the course, contact Stacey Karchner at (814) 360-7590 or email the instructor at skarchner9@gmail.com.