Partnership to End Addiction

05/22/2026

For , tell your members of Congress to support the EARLY Minds Act.

The bill would allow states to use some federal Community Mental Health Services Block Grant funds for prevention and early intervention.

Mental health disorders are a key risk factor for substance use disorders. Investing in prevention can help ensure young people receive help before they are experiencing a crisis and before challenges escalate to a mental health or substance use disorder.

Partnership to End Addiction - Expand funding for mental health and substance use disorder prevention

05/20/2026

Even without a family history of addiction, drinking alcohol can affect a teen’s brain, mental health, decision-making, safety, and future risk for alcohol problems.

Early alcohol use is linked to:
◾ Increased addiction risk
◾ Poor decision-making
◾ Memory & learning problems
◾ Mental health challenges

The teen years are critical for brain development — and delaying alcohol use is one of the best ways to reduce long-term risk.

05/18/2026

Setting boundaries with your teen without starting a fight? It's one of the hardest parts of parenting and also one of the most protective.

Swipe to learn more about strategies parents can use to create healthy limits and boundaries.

05/14/2026

In this video, we explore the benefits of healthy risk taking in teens and how it fosters growth, confidence, and resilience. 💪

While it's natural to want to protect our kids, allowing them to face manageable challenges—like learning to ride a bike or trying out for a team—helps them develop essential life skills. These experiences teach them to navigate failure, build self-esteem, and prepare for real-world challenges.

05/12/2026

When a child is struggling with addiction or mental health, parents often carry an invisible weight – fear, guilt, and isolation.

Our VP of Consumer Clinical Content, Pat Aussem, was featured in The Washington Post this week alongside families living this reality. She shared practical guidance on safety planning, recognizing early warning signs, and why parents are never to blame for their child's illness.

“In many cases, there is this sort of unspoken blame … like the parents’ parenting skills are responsible for their child’s mental health issues. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. It would be like blaming someone who has a child with cancer, and saying, ‘Well if you’d been a better parent, your child wouldn’t have cancer.’”

If this sounds familiar, please know you're not alone. Support is available. Visit drugfree.org/getsupport to connect with resources today.

Read the full article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/05/11/reiner-mental-health-families

05/08/2026

One of the most powerful ways parents and caregivers can support teens is by modeling healthy behavior. In this video, we explore how your everyday actions can help protect children from the risks of substance use and teach them healthy coping skills for life.

From managing stress without substances to showing how to ask for help, positive role modeling goes a long way.

05/06/2026

The tween years (roughly ages 10–14) are a time when the parts of the brain that produce strong emotions are well developed and highly active, while the parts that control behavior are still developing. That means your middle schooler isn’t being dramatic on purpose. They’re just naturally driven more by their emotions at this stage of life.

Here’s the good news: you can help them build those behavior control skills now, before their emotions get them into trouble. Swipe to learn more about coping skills for tweens.

05/05/2026

⚠️ Kratom is everywhere—but do you know what’s actually in it?

📆 Join Shatterproof on Wednesday, May 6 at 1 PM ET for a live panel discussion on synthetic kratom.

We're bringing together a panel of experts from Partnership to End Addiction, FED Up Rally, CVS Health and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth to discuss the safety concerns and public health impact of synthetic kratom.

🔗 Register today: https://bit.ly/4ej2OVS

05/04/2026

Is it just a phase… or something more?

If your teen is pulling away, having mood swings, or using substances, it could be more than typical behavior. Mental health challenges and substance use often happen together—this is called co-occurring disorders.

Sometimes teens use substances to cope. Other times, it makes things worse.

The good news? Help works—and early support matters.

🎥 Learn the signs and how to help at drugfree.org/mentalhealth

04/29/2026

Today is National Fentanyl Awareness Day, and we’re sharing how to administer naloxone, a medication that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. Knowing these tips can help reduce risks and save lives.

04/28/2026

Introducing the Family Resilience Network: https://experts.drugfree.org/family-resilience-network/

Scott Hadland, MD, Partnership to End Addiction Board Member, Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, discusses a new workplace benefit that helps working parents prevent and address substance use disorders.

For more than 30 years, Partnership to End Addiction has guided millions of parents with science-backed tools, compassion, and connection. Now, we’re partnering with visionary employers to bring a message of hope and resilience to millions of parents who suffer silently behind a pleasant smile in the workplace.

Click to learn more about how to bring this program to your workplace: https://experts.drugfree.org/family-resilience-network/