New addiction recovery programs and family support services coming to Sussex County

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Families in Sussex County, Delaware, navigating addiction will soon have a new place to turn for support.

Founded in 2011 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Be a Part of the Conversation is a nonprofit focused on educating families about substance use, addiction and recovery, and connecting families for peer support, while linking them with recovery resources. Plans are underway to expand into southern Delaware — an area that advocates say has long lacked resources.

Organizers say bringing the nonprofit into Sussex County is intentional as support services are often concentrated in the northern part of the state.

“We have so many more resources in the Wilmington area than we do down here,” Kathy Greeley, the organization’s Delaware program manager, said. “So often my experience has been that things come into the state and they start north and they come south. They go from New Castle to Kent to Sussex — and we’re kind of the last ones to get those resources.”

Research from the National Library of Medicine shows peer support can play a powerful role in recovery. When people can speak with other families who have lived through similar experiences, it can help reduce stigma and create a space where they feel understood rather than judged. While the group is not a treatment provider, it works to guide families toward helpful resources and provide a supportive space to talk openly about addiction.

For Greeley, the mission is deeply personal.

“I’m a woman in recovery, and I started working in the field of recovery and addiction when I got here,” she said. “I was using their resources at the time, because I really didn’t have any resources for families.”

She says many parents struggle to find guidance when a loved one is dealing with addiction.

“There weren’t any family meetings for just parents. There weren’t a lot of resources for people to go and get information as to what addiction was, how it affects families, what you can do to get help, how you can help your person who’s suffering with the addiction,” Greeley said. “I was very familiar with Be a Part of the Conversation in Pennsylvania, because I know many of the people that are part of that organization. I also have two children in recovery from addiction as well as my own recovery.”

After securing funding to grow its services, the nonprofit plans to host a free family recovery course in Sussex County. Organizers say addiction affects entire families, which is why the programs are designed to reach beyond just one person.

“The biggest thing that we’re going to have is parent partnership meetings which will be similar to an Al-Anon meeting for a family,” she said. “But these meetings are specific to parents, grandparents and guardians of a child — and the child could be 40, and the parents can be 60.”

Programs will also support other family members affected by addiction and provide information on issues ranging from substance use to behaviors like vaping or gambling.

The organization will introduce the plan during a community open house in Georgetown, Delaware, on March 5, where residents can learn about the upcoming programs and connect with organizers.

Organizers say they hope the effort will expand across the state, but starting in Sussex County is an important first step.