ALC - Homeward

Dear Parents,

When our daughter returned home from a therapeutic camp we were very nervous. We were concerned that there would be a return to the old behavioral patterns in a very short time. We decided to have Homeward Bound help us with the transition. It was one of the best decisions we have made. We had some reservations about having a Homeward Bound representative visit our home, but he put us all at ease immediately. In fact, our daughter initially resisted participating, but our coach handled it so well that she was soon sitting on the couch and engaged in the discussion. When he left after that first night, our daughter even acknowledged that she liked him.

Dear Parents:

Homeward Bound has empowered my family and me to continue forward in a positive direction with this long and challenging journey of parenting. Not just the parenting of a child who has had challenges, but any child.

Dear Parents,

This letter is written in support of Homeward Bound and all of the parents who are in the recovery process with their son or daughter. For our family, one of the most frightening events to consider in the recovery process was the actual return home of our daughter. We had taken great comfort in knowing for the past few months, she was in the hands of talented professionals who knew much more about substance abuse and recovery than we did. This was true of the youth transport program who escorted her, the terrific wilderness program she was sent to, and the fantastic recovery program in Utah. To even fathom having her back in the home with us was terrifying to imagine. We had been through so much with her, and were very much rookies in this painful, but critical, recovery process. Additionally, we had made such large financial commitments and sacrifices for her recovery that it was difficult to justify making yet another. Enter Homeward Bound.

My step kid’s mom died of cancer a few month’s after I married their dad. In retrospect, I desperately wish that we had waited to get married so that the there would be separation between our marriage and this enormous loss. As it is though, the events have been so tied that I am the woman who arrived just as their mom left…and that hasn’t really lent itself to a solid relationship.

Dear parent,
If you are bringing your teen home from an out-of-home program, then you are probably right where we once were – excited but really nervous, hoping that things wouldn’t go right back to where they once were. We know we would need help, but we didn’t know where to find it. Thankfully, our son’s wilderness therapist recommended that we talk with Homeward Bound. So we did.

Dear Parents,

We are very grateful to Homeward Bound for the help they gave us in the transition home with our son. There were many sensitive issues, many unknown issues, and many issues that we did not really embrace previously. The guidance and occasional “nudge” that Homeward Bound provided was timely and meaningful. The focus was on the whole family, not just our son. That was something that we have really come to appreciate as things played out.