About Caregiver Connection
Family members with a loved one navigating substance use carry a heavy load, and most of it goes unrecognized. When they do look for help for themselves, the options are hard to find, scattered, or buried inside overwhelming websites.
Caregiver Connection is a curated site for Pennsylvania family members to find support for themselves.
Developed with families
A Parent Advisory Board of family members from across Pennsylvania guided this site from the start — advising on what to include, how to present it, and what language to use.
Their input was grounded in years of research. The team behind this site has conducted nearly 100 interviews with Pennsylvania family members at every stage of supporting a loved one with substance use disorder. Those conversations revealed a consistent picture: families want support, but stigma keeps them from seeking it. When they do, the options are too hard to find or too overwhelming to sort through.
This site is our way of reducing the burden of finding support.
How we hope this helps
We don't expect this site to solve everything. What we do hope is that when someone in Pennsylvania is looking for support — whether they just found out their child is using, they've been on this road for years, or they're grieving a loss — they can come here and find something that helps.
A support group nearby. A virtual peer network they can join tonight. Or the reassurance that they're not alone and that what they're feeling is not a sign that they failed.
Our team
Övgü Kaynak, Ph.D.
Dr. Kaynak is an Associate Professor of Psychology and faculty affiliate of the Pollock Center at Penn State Harrisburg. Her work focuses on stigma experienced by families of people with substance use disorder, including associative stigma, vicarious stigma, and the impact of stigma on caregivers' ability to access support. Her research with Pennsylvania families directly informed the design and content of this site.
Family Advisory Board
The Family Advisory Board is a group of family members with lived experience who have guided the development of Caregiver Connection. Board members contributed their knowledge, perspectives, and personal experiences to ensure this tool reflects what families actually need.
Carmen Capozzi
Carmen Capozzi founded Sage's Army Inc. in 2012, following the accidental death of his son, Sage. As Executive Director and Co-Founder, Carmen has helped lead the organization's mission to support individuals and families affected by substance use disorder through recovery support, outreach, education, and community services.
Michelle Creasy
Michelle Creasy is the Founder and Executive Director of Jeremy's Journey, a community-based nonprofit dedicated to overdose awareness, recovery support, education, and outreach. Following the loss of her stepson Jeremy to a fentanyl overdose in 2018, she dedicated herself to creating spaces where individuals and families impacted by substance use could feel supported, connected, and hopeful.
Michael Straley
Michael Straley serves as the Executive Director of the Fulton County Medical Center Foundation. He is the co-founder of Leah's Legacy, a non-profit founded in memory of his daughter, Leah Renee, forever 26, who passed on Valentine's Day 2018 from fentanyl poisoning.
Michelle Swank
Michelle Swank is an Office Manager at an occupational medicine practice, where she helps oversee monitoring for individuals in recovery programs and employees in commercial industries. She brings valuable, real-world insight shaped by both her professional and personal experiences across northeastern Pennsylvania.
Cindy Wanamaker
Cindy Wanamaker is a Certified Family Recovery Specialist and has a son in recovery. She believes in the importance of education and support and continues to guide families on similar journeys.
The Douglas W. Pollock Center for Addiction Outreach and Research
The Pollock Center, part of the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education at Penn State Harrisburg, focuses on addiction outreach, research, and education. The Center's work includes community-based research on substance use disorder stigma, caregiver burden, and family support — the same research that informed the development of this site.
Find Support
Search for in-person and virtual support groups, peer networks, and community organizations across Pennsylvania.
If you need immediate help
This site does not provide crisis support. If you or someone you know needs help now, please reach out using the information below.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 — free, confidential, available 24/7.
PA Get Help Now Hotline
Call 1-800-662-4357 — free, confidential, bilingual (English/Spanish).
Medical Emergency
Call 911.