Carolina Springs Academy: Cincinnati Family Support Group
Our journey with WWASP began August of 2001. At the time we were in the middle of total family breakdown and chaos. Our son, Grant, was on a path of complete self destruction. He had lost respect for authority, his family and most of all himself. In desperation I turned to the back of a Southern Living Magazine and saw the ad for Teen Help. The main reason my husband and I chose the WWASP Program, and Carolina Springs Academy, was that it offered learning and growing for the entire family. On a complete leap of faith we enrolled Grant at CSA and had him escorted out of our home in the middle of the night. We did not talk to anyone at the School. We were not aware at that time of a parent referral list, so we did not talk to any parents and we did not visit the School prior to having Grant taken there. That was a period of time for me that included a lot of self doubt and fears.
We signed up right away for Discovery. Another source of help for me was the Parent BBS. Searching the BBS I came across a Support Group in Columbus, OH. We were blessed to join a group with Britt Cummins at the helm. Along with our commitment of going to all the seminars, and Program completion for our son, we committed to our monthly Support Group meetings. This entailed a two hour drive each way and sometimes a 4-5 hour meeting. Through the support of the Columbus group we were encouraged and guided through our journey.
August 2002, Grant graduated from the Program and we continued the commitment to the Support Group. By January 2003 I felt the need to give back to the Program in some way.
I knew there were other families in the Cincinnati area who were unable to commit to attending the Support Group in Columbus and after a year and a half of the monthly drive, I had to admit it was time for a change. So I called Dwan Serrano at WWASP and asked how do I go about this? Despite my reservations she immediately put my name on her master Support Group list. I won?t forget her coaching to me, ??If you have the meeting they will come!?? In March 2003 we held our first Cincinnati Support Group meeting and had 25 people in attendance.
To date we have about a dozen families involved; two new families in just the past two months. We have teens and families in all stages of their journeys. Most of our members are very committed to coming to the meetings. We give feedback and support and we laugh and cry with each other. I would have never pictured the journey we have taken as a family. Through WWASP and CSA we have a family who is whole and healthy. I am blessed to be able to give back and support the families in our group. To guess I would still be involved boggles my mind, however each meeting reaffirms why I am!
by Linda Boe son, Grant graduated Carolina Springs Academy August 2002
