Families & alliesParentsPartnersFriends
Your feelingsbelong here too.
Family & Allies meetings
A room for the people who love them.
Live, audio-only meetings with a human host, for anyone affected by someone else’s addiction. You come as yourself — under a pseudonym — not as anyone’s monitor.
- Doors open 15 minutes before; you join muted and can just listen
- No cameras, no recordings, no public list of who attended
- Some other rooms are marked family-friendly in the schedule
Support without supervising
Be beside them,not above them.
Instead of: Checking their phone, location or meeting attendance
Try: Asking “How are you doing, really?” — and accepting the answer
Instead of: Counting days clean on their behalf
Try: Noticing effort, not milestones: the call they made, the room they went to
Instead of: Asking what they wrote in their workbook
Try: Trusting that private writing is how the work gets honest
Instead of: Fixing every practical problem yourself
Try: Pointing them to people who’ve been there — a meeting, a ride on the help board
Instead of: Carrying it all quietly
Try: Getting support of your own, in a room built for families
Boundaries
Say what you will and won’t do
A boundary is about your actions, not their behavior: “I won’t give cash, but I’ll drive you to your appointment.”
Listen more than you advise
Most people in early recovery already know what they “should” do. Being heard is rarer, and it lasts.
Expect hard days without panic
A rough week isn’t the end of recovery. Stay steady, stay kind, and keep the crisis numbers handy.
Look after yourself, too
Sleep, friends, your own meetings. You can’t pour from an empty cup — and you don’t have to try.
General peer guidance, not clinical or legal advice. For a plan that fits your family, talk with a qualified professional.
What families can see
Nothing about them,unless they share it.
Never visible to you
- Their workbook answers
- Their daily check-ins and notes
- Any record of meetings they RSVP’d to or attended
- Their help-board requests and contact details
- Their account email or real name
Only if they choose
A member can send you selected workbook pages through a private link. They pick exactly which prompts, the link expires within 14 days, and they can turn it off at any time.
If they share something, treat it as a gift — not an opening to ask for more.
The same goes for you
Join as a “Family member” or “Friend or ally” and you get the same protections: a pseudonym, your own private workbook, and attendance nobody else can see.
Families and allies can use every HEAL tool — free.
Support for you
You need peoplewho get it, too.
When it’s more than a hard day
If anyone is in danger — from an overdose, from themselves, or from someone at home — call for help first.
More guides for families
FreePeer-ledReal people
You don’t have to carry this alone.
Join free as a family member or ally. Come to a Family & Allies room and listen — that’s enough for a first step.