The Circle of Care Online Resource Toolkit

***Please check back January 21st, 2025 for the release of the Online Resource Toolkit. This page and the toolkit are still under construction but will be up and available by the first Threads of Hope training. If you haven't registered for this training, visit the Threads of Hope page (link located to the right) and sign up today to reserve your spot!***

To help foster well-prepared circles of care in all communities, the Circle of Care has collected practical resources from national experts on children’s experience of loss, grief, and the effects of substance use disorders (SUD) on families.

Life in a substance-affected family can be painful and isolating for children and teens, and the experience of loss and grief adds many more layers of fear, distress, and complexity. Connection with even one understanding, compassionate adult in the family or community can make all the difference. Professional, volunteer, neighbor, family member—it might be anyone who takes the time to listen, learn, understand, and respond in safe and effective ways.

This Toolkit starts with web-based resources in three collections: resources for and about very young children, grade-school kids, and teens (middle- and high-school). These include age-specific insights, tips for listeners and supporters, the words of kids who have “been there,” and activities you can use with children and teens. In early 2025 we will expand the toolkit by adding more topic-specific collections.

We have linked to individual resources developed by six extraordinary organizations:   The Dougy Center, The Elizabeth Hospice, The Eluna Network, Judi's House/Jag Institute, The National Alliance for Children's Grief, and Wayfinder Family Co., and to collections of resources developed and posted by these and three additional organizations: GriefSucks.com, The National Association for Children of Addiction, and SpeakingGrief.org. We highly recommend that you also take some time to explore the many free resources available on the websites of these organizations.

The resources linked to in this Toolkit are solely the products and property of the organizations that have posted them, and those organizations bear no responsibility for the content of this toolkit or this website.

Resources in Three Collections by Children's Ages