Support for families affected by addiction.
Guiding families, growing together.
NON-CLINICAL FAMILY SUPPORT · NORFOLK, VA
Addiction does not happen to one person alone.
It reshapes families, finances, parenting, relationships, and the everyday sense of safety inside a home. The person using gets most of the attention, and most of the services. The people around them get crisis calls, missed work, and a constant, low-grade fear that becomes normal.
Even as fatal overdoses decline, families are still dealing with grief and instability. Treatment exists for the person in recovery. For everyone else in the house, formal support barely exists. That is the gap Lantern & Branch was built to fill.
Supporting the family is one of the most effective ways to help the person using.
Families get people into treatment.
In randomized trials of CRAFT, a method that trains family members rather than the person using, roughly two out of three people who had refused treatment went on to enter it, compared to about one in three with the traditional confrontational intervention, and even fewer through Al-Anon referral alone. The family never delivers treatment; they change the conditions around it.
Involved families improve recovery itself.
A meta-analysis of 16 clinical trials covering more than 2,100 patients found that treatment involving a significant other produced better substance-use outcomes than the same therapy delivered to the patient alone, and the benefit persisted for up to 18 months after treatment ended.
Sources: Kirby et al., Psychology of Addictive Behaviors (2017); CCSA evidence summary (2017); Ariss & Fairbairn, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (2020).
Source: Virginia Department of Health, Drug Overdose and Substance Use Fast Facts (2024).
State figures are 2025 estimates derived from NCHS 2024 final counts and CDC provisional 2025 trends. Virginia: ~1,550.
Reach out.
Tell us what is going on. Everything you share stays private, all four programs are free, and there is no wrong way to start. We reply within two business days.
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Four programs for families.
All four programs are free for families and non-clinical. Open any program to see how it works.
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A year with a Companion.
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One email a month.
Updates on our work in Hampton Roads, stories from our Companions, and useful resources. Sent on the first Sunday of each month.