July 26, 2010

If you happened to be at Roger Williams Park on Thursday, July 22, you would have seen quite a crowd gathered together. It was the 7th Annual Summer Celebration for the families of Project Connect. This unique and innovative program is geared to assist families involved in the child welfare system who are also affected by substances. Its goals are safety, family preservation and recovery. Nearly 80 parents and children came together from all over Rhode Island to celebrate the challenges and successes they have seen….and most importantly, enjoy this chance to be a family together living a lifestyle of recovery from addiction.

The challenges they have endured and will continue to face on this journey are indeed significant and Children’s Friend is committed to seeing them through this journey regardless of what it takes. This day was an opportunity for all the families there to sit back with one another, enjoy the beautiful weather, talk about their lives and the nuances of Zhu Zhu pets, cajole their children into eating some salad, and recognize their accomplishments together. For the team organizing this, it was also a celebration: a chance to see a group of kids playing t-ball, a young toddler eating strawberries while sitting with her mother and a father rocking his infant to sleep while he quietly chats with another dad. A time to see these families together….to just be families. It is truly what Children's Friend is all about.