By CHRIS LARABEE
Staff Writer, Greenfield Recorder
Published: 6/18/2021 2:38:32 PM

GREENFIELD — Local family-serving agencies and volunteers attended a three-day training session at The RECOVER Project last week to learn about the Strengthening Families Program.

The program, run over seven weeks, focuses on building family relationships through topics such as stress, communication and love. Parents and teens ages 10 to 14 participate together once a week in two-hour sessions where they participate in activities and discussions.

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The Strengthening Families Program has been shown to be effective at reducing youth drug and alcohol use by strengthening family relationships, according to a press release from the Communities That Care Coalition.

The six trainees and additional volunteers that participated last week are now able to bring the program back to their agencies and provide its benefits to the community at large. Agencies might not implement the program right away, but Allen said The Brick House Community Resource Center in Turners Falls and The RECOVER Project in Greenfield are eager to add it to their summer services.

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