Bridge to Hope available for those helping substance abusers

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

Nikki Calloway, a mental health counselor at UPMC McKeesport, understands the “questions and frustrations associated with living with an individual with a substance abuse disorder.”

That’s why she has expanded UPMC’s Bridge to Hope to the McKeesport-based hospital. Bridge to Hope is a support group that meets bi-weekly and aims to provide support for families affected by substance abuse.

The group’s motto is “There’s no place like hope.”

The group began meeting at UPMC McKeesport two weeks ago and will reconvene at 7 p.m. tonight and again at 7 p.m. Feb. 5 and 19, March 4 and 18, April 1,15 and 29 and May 13 and 27 at the Usman Ahmad Conference Center on the first floor of the Mansfield Building.

Calloway said Bridge to Hope is a free support program for families and friends “who have come to the realization that a family member is facing substance abuse.” The program is intended to “bridge a gap between the realization of the problem and the need for solutions.”

“It is a bridge to finding help and giving support to those who are — directly or indirectly — affected by addiction,” she said.

Other Bridge to Hope programs operate out of the Passavant Hospital Foundation’s conference center in Allison Park and UPMC East’s conference center in Monroeville. More than 400 families are involved in the Passavant Foundation program, according to the foundation’s website. 

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