*Not her real name

Families rarely walk through substance use disorder alone. That’s why Apricity offers The Daybreak Project, a monthly virtual support group for loved ones indirectly affected by addiction. Daybreak provides education, connection, and a safe place to navigate the fear and uncertainty that substance use brings to friends and family of those afflicted.

For Kim, that support eventually became a lifeline. Her story begins long before she found Daybreak , back when she was a mother trying to hold her family together through years of fear, chaos, and love.

Kim’s family had been navigating her daughter’s struggles for more than a decade. “Our family has been dealing with eating disorders, cutting and gradual escalation of drug use since my daughter was 14 years old, and she is now 29 years old,” she said.

Life became a cycle of sleepless nights, police visits, and heartbreaking phone calls. Her daughter’s relationships were abusive, and Kim often found herself rescuing her granddaughter. “I would go over to her house and pick up the baby from her crib because my daughter would be too high to take care of her own child,” she said.

Eventually, Kim had to make an impossible choice. “I had to kick my daughter out on the street because she didn’t pay rent and utilities got disconnected,” she said. “She lived in her car for almost a year with an abusive partner.”

The strain seeped into every part of family life. “My husband and I had rough relationship issues… I was always defending my daughter and allowing her to treat me poorly, and that affected my mental health,” she said. “My other daughter was neglected by me as a result, and her relationship with her sister was non-existent. Overall, our life was miserable, and every day was like hell.”

Kim carried a constant, heavy fear “that my daughter would die and that all her potential was just going down the drain.”

She also carried guilt. “I feared that all this was my fault, because right before she started her substance use I had gotten a divorce. I thought that I was the cause of her using.”

Before substances entered their lives, her daughter was vibrant and full of promise. “She was so smart, thoughtful, and funny. Her smile always lit up the room, and she was such a positive energy,” Kim remembers. “Our relationship was always loving with lots of laughs and hugs. My two daughters and I were all very close.”

Kim realized her daughter had a problem with substance use when she was 16 years old. “I constantly talked to my daughter about getting help ,but she always walked away or said it was none of my business. She said that me saying that she needed help was like me wanting to rid myself of her and pass her to someone else.”

When her daughter finally accepted help, she attended four treatment programs, each for 30-45 days, including two residential programs. Kim noticed small shifts each visit. “She seemed to be calmer and at peace.” However, each time she finished a program, she would start using again.

It wasn’t until the last stint that something changed. “With the last treatment facility, she had made plans to get into a sober living location after exiting versus expecting to come live at our home. The sober living location was Apricity’s.”

Her daughter lived at Apricity Sober Living for six months, finding connection, structure, and people who understood her. “The support team, including the recovery coaches, ‘got’ her because they had lived through what she was going through,” Kim said.

Kim’s daughter has been in recovery since November of 2025. “It has been truly a rebirth,” Kim said. “During this time she learned to open up to her recovery coach and made sober friends. The home environment provided her with a great place to start learning to be responsibile again. She started a great job while she was at Apricity. Our relationship right now is just beyond words… she is always so loving and appreciative.”

Kim’s daughter and her granddaughter also have a good relationship. “Seeing them together always makes my heart melt… her smile and energy lights up the room when she enters it.”

Every time Kim talks to her daughter, she tells her, how proud she is, noting, “She is the strongest person I know and will ever meet. What she does for herself every day is amazing. I am lucky to have her in my life again; I missed her, and now she is back and I am at peace.”

Kim believes Apricity helped her daughter to stop using substances, kept her off the streets, and allowed her to build a relationship with her own daughter. “Apricity has given us our daughter back. I would not be able to see how beautiful a woman my daughter is without the deep connection and self-realization she has made while at the sober living home. She told me that of all the programs she has been at, Apricity was THE one that connected with her,” Kim said.

Ongoing support matters just as much as the initial treatment program. “Her recovery coach continues to help her. The post-care and relationship are also a key to her continued progress,” Kim says. “One 30–45-day treatment is NOT enough.”

For eight years, Kim and her husband have participated in Daybreak meetings. “I honestly look forward to the monthly connection,” she said. “This meeting has helped me be able to openly share my fears and pain with no judgement.” Kim learned boundaries, self-care, and how to support her daughter without enabling.  “Daybreak works with loving the addict while setting healthy boundaries and self-care,” she said.

Kim’s gratitude is deep and clear. “I am grateful for Apricity, and the resources made available to the person who is addicted and their family members. Knowing that there are resources available helps alleviate the pain.”

The Daybreak Project is a gathering of people whose lives have been affected by someone’s use or misuse of substances. Meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month from 6 to 8 pm. Connect here to request an invite to our online meeting.