Family Addiction Network
A Compassionate Community for Families with Addiction
2022 Meetings
December 20th 7:00 - 8:30pm
West Long Branch Community Center (in person)
In the Gene Van Brunt Room
Join us for a little Holiday Cheer and a presentation on the topic of Boundaries!
This time of year can be very challenging, balancing all the holiday festivities, maintaining healthy boundaries and making sure to exercise some self-care.
When it comes to psychological well being, having boundaries is essential. They provide us with a sense of safety, and confidence. Without them we can easily become overwhelmed by the demands of others and lose sight of what is important to us. Boundaries give us the space we need to process our thoughts and feelings and make sure we are not being taken advantage of by others. By setting strong boundaries, we can protect our energy, take better care of ourselves and be more present for our family.
Susan Marco will guide us through an experiential process to better understand how we can manage our existing boundaries, or how we can create new ones! You will want to attend this one!!!
This meeting is open to all!! Hope to see you there!
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November 15th 7:00 - 8:30pm
West Long Branch Community Center (in person)
In the Gene Van Brunt Room
Jessica Dressler – From Trauma to Triumph
Our presenter this month is an amazing woman who grew up the child of addiction and mental illness. She began using alcohol at age 11 and at 22 escalated to other substances. She continued on this path until age 31, when she reached sobriety only to relapse 4 years later. She became sober again in 2018, and by sharing her experience aims to help other individuals and families navigate through the terrain of addiction. Her desire is to assist with minimizing other people’s suffering while sustaining her own recovery!
Jessica is a Recovery Specialist as well as a Real Estate Agent with an Associates Degree in Health Sciences. She is continuing her education while raising her 5 children!!
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October 18th 7:00 - 8:30pm
West Long Branch Community Center (in person)
In the Gene Van Brunt Room
This month we will dedicate our meeting for sharing! Bring your troubles and worries and be met at the door with compassion, empathy and respect.
Feel free to bring a friend or a family member!
Whether this is your first time or you have been there many times, or somewhere in between, it is a safe space to unwind and relax a bit. Hope to see you there!
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August 16th
7:00 - 8:30pm
West Long Branch Community Center (in person)
In the Gene Van Brunt Room
Managing Mindset
Living with someone in active addiction can feel very disempowering. It can feel like you are a leaf at the mercy of the wind, not knowing what will happen next or how your loved one will survive another day.
Our presenter for August is our very own co-founder, Susan Marco. Susan, a Clinical Hypnotist and Mindset Mentor will share about how our mindset can help us weather the storm of addiction in the family. Susan helps people learn how to reach deep states of learning, healing and creativity. Using a variety of techniques, she guides her clients into a condition of deep relaxation while at the same time a heightened state of awareness and focused attention. This process allows you to access your own innate wisdom which leads to new solutions for old problems! Her work is guided by her training and experience in Clinical Hypnosis, Past Life Regression, Teaching Children Meditation, Self-Empowerment Coaching, Chi Gong Practice, Personal Transformation Work, Pragmatic Meditation and Awareness Training and her Massage Therapy Practice of 30 years.
Her volunteer endeavors, which include Family Addiction Network are driven by her own experiences with a family member who struggled for years with heroin addiction. She currently serves on the steering committee of Long Branch H.E.A.R.S. (Health, Education, Addiction and Recovery Support), a grassroots organization dedicated to creating a supportive, stigma free prevention and recovery community in Long Branch!
Open to all!
Hope to see you there!!!
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July 19th
7:00 - 8:30pm
West Long Branch Community Center (in person)
In the Gene Van Brunt Room
On Raising Grandchildren
Pam Capaci is a person whose life has been impacted by addiction in a very unexpected way. She has worked in the field for over 30 years and has supported 1000 of families on their journey through addiction. When it hit her home directly, she learned about boundaries and the importance of setting them. She learned to let go with love and to pray – hard.
Still nothing really prepared her for the role she is playing now as a grandmother. It is hard to find a boundary that seems supportive but not overly supportive when her granddaughter’s wellness hangs in the balance.
She will be sharing about the challenges and lessons learned with the intention that we may be able to glean from one another through our shared experiences.
Pam is a Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor, with a BA in Psychology and MS in Applied Healing Arts. She was the CEO of Prevention Links and currently is the CEO of Hope Sheds Light, a nonprofit in Ocean and Monmouth Counties that serves the community with support through Love, Hope and Compassion.
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June 21st
7:00 - 8:30pm
West Long Branch Community Center (in person)
In the Gene Van Brunt Room
Back by popular demand!
This month is simply time to share. We have done this in the past and it has been very transformative. There are very few places where we can just let go and let it all out. Whether there is a need to vent, or an opportunity to offer solutions, or to hold space for each other, this is a safe and welcoming environment!
Bring friends or family, all are welcome!
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March 15th
7:00 - 8:30pm
West Long Branch Community Center (in person)
In the Gene Van Brunt Room
For our March 15th meeting we are so happy to welcome back Dory Rachel!
Dory has been a wonderful friend to Family Addiction Network, always there to support us with her wisdom and knowledge of the treatment and recovery industry. She is also a seasoned healer, helping people live better lives!
In this presentation, Dory will show us various protocols to center and effectively remove stress in these crazy times. Easy to do and easy to show others. As we all know, the stress we live under everyday can deplete us and can cause a lot of tension in our bodies. This meeting is an opportunity to relax and replenish ourselves!
Dory is an Artist Way Facilitator, Reiki Master Teacher, Healing Touch Practitioner, Spiritual Life Coach and is 36 years in Recovery. She is a grandmother, artist and vocalist!
Her business, Dragonfly impressions consists of a series of sessions involving the arts, music, writings and guided meditations created to support one’s path moving forward. Based on the premise that a dragonfly lives most of its life as a nymph, it is a symbol of maturity and “seeing beyond” providing the example of wonder for us all!
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February 15th
7:00 - 8:30pm
West Long Branch Community Center (in person)
In the Gene Van Brunt Room
This month we are pleased to introduce you to the Gasser twins, Dylan and Justin!
We heard them speak at an event last year and we were very impressed with their story and with their personalities! They are a perfect snapshot of what recovery can look like! Here is a little about them:
They experienced a parallel journey through addiction. Beginning in middle school selling tobacco products and moving on to selling drugs. The adrenalin rush they got from this lifestyle surpassed anything else they had felt before. At their 18th birthday party, they were offered heroin. Dylan refused, Justin did not…he “fell in love” with it. This turned into a downward spiral of house raids, arrests and inpatient treatment episodes. Dylan tried everything in his power to help Justin to no avail. Eventually, while in college, Dylan decided to see what was so good about heroin and fell in love with the lifestyle as well. Again, there were several arrests and a raid of his dorm room after which Justin was kicked out of school just 3 weeks prior to graduation. Their parents separated them, sending Justin to California to live with family while Dylan stayed in NJ, thinking this might help them find sobriety. 10 months later, when Justin returned, they picked up right where they left off leading to even more arrests and drug charges.
Right after their birthday in 2017, they decided that they had had enough. A local treatment center, Recovery Centers of America (RCA), agreed to take them both in together. This was previously unheard of, not only are they siblings, but twins. They credit their parents and RCA (where they currently both work) with their success. Justin serves as a case manager at RCA while continuing his education, he is soon to graduate and become a therapist. Dylan is currently in a masters program while serving as the director of admissions at RCA. They hope to one day open their own treatment center.
We hope to see you on the 15th!!!
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