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Families supporting someone with a substance use disorder often spend months piecing together information on their own, and the cost of that search falls on people who are already stretched thin. Pennsylvania has launched a free recovery support website built specifically for them, gathering the practical resources families most often need into one place at no charge.
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs launched Caregiver Connection on July 22, 2026. The site is aimed at parents, grandparents, siblings, and anyone else supporting a loved one with a substance use disorder.
Free Features on the Site
The resource works as a single starting point rather than a directory of one kind of service. Families can use it to locate a local or online support group, connect with others in similar situations, find their nearest county drug and alcohol office, and find out where to get free Narcan.
That combination matters for families working with limited money. County drug and alcohol offices are the entry point for publicly funded treatment in Pennsylvania, and knowing which office serves your county is often the difference between accessing state-funded care and assuming treatment is unaffordable. Free naloxone access removes another cost barrier for households where an overdose is a realistic worry.
Why Families Are the Target
Support aimed at families rather than at the person using substances is comparatively rare, and it is rarer still at no cost.
“We know that family members who have a loved one navigating substance use often feel overwhelmed, stigmatized, and don’t know where to look for help for themselves,” said DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones.
Dr. Weston Kensinger, who directs Penn State Harrisburg’s Douglas W. Pollock Center for Addiction Outreach and Research, described families as the invisible backbone of recovery, and said too many of them face stigma, confusion, and isolation while trying to help someone they love.
The Pollock Center co-developed the site with the state. Its development was guided by a Parent Advisory Board made up of family members from across Pennsylvania with a range of lived experience, who advised on what to include, how to present it, and what language to use.
Free Learning Modules Already Running
The new site builds on a Family Learning Series the department launched earlier in 2026, also free to use. It covers seven topics through short videos and accompanying resources:
- Setting boundaries and self-care
- Resources and support systems for substance use disorders
- Understanding substance use disorders
- What to expect in treatment
- What to expect in recovery
- How to support and talk with children when a parent has a substance use disorder
- Raising children of parents with a substance use disorder
According to the department, the series has delivered more than 125 hours of learning time since launch. In the department’s own participant survey, 94% of respondents said they planned to use what they learned, 96% rated the videos useful, and 85% said they felt more able to support a loved one afterward.
The department has said it plans to expand the series with modules covering prevention and problem gambling.
What to Know When Seeking Affordable Help
If you are supporting someone with a substance use disorder, a few things are worth knowing regardless of which state you live in.
Most states operate a county-level or regional office that serves as the gateway to publicly funded treatment, and contacting that office directly is usually faster than calling individual facilities. Free naloxone is available in many states through health departments, harm reduction programs, and standing-order pharmacy access. Family support groups, including Al-Anon and Nar-Anon, meet at no cost in most communities and online.
Families frequently assume that treatment is out of reach financially before checking what public funding covers. Confirming what your state and county actually provide is worth doing early.
Finding Free and Low-Cost Support
Practical next steps:
- Contact your county/regional drug and alcohol office to see what publicly funded treatment your family member qualifies for
- Ask specifically about sliding-scale fees and whether Medicaid is accepted
- Look for free family support groups meeting locally or online
- Find out where free naloxone is distributed in your area
Rehabs.org lists free, low-cost, sliding-scale, and publicly funded treatment options by state and county. SAMHSA’s National Helpline is available at 1-800-662-4357, free and confidential, for treatment referrals and information.
