Bethany Christian Services Honors First Graduating Class from Substance Abuse Recovery Program
October 21, 2020
Lancaster, PA— Bethany Christian Services, a nonprofit organization supporting vulnerable children and families in the U.S. and around the world, will honor the first graduates of the Recovering Mothers with Newborns (ReNew) program in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Friday, October 23 in a small, telecast ceremony.
“We are so excited to celebrate the accomplishments of these women from the ReNew program,” said Jen Strasenburgh, a women’s advocate at Bethany Christian Services of Central Pennsylvania. “Overcoming addiction, incarceration, and intergenerational trauma is not easy. These mothers have worked hard to start a new chapter in their lives for themselves and for their children.”
ReNew was created to help families stay together by supporting incarcerated expectant mothers with a history of opioid or other substance misuse and preparing them to care for their child. The program provides specialized case management and wraparound support services for incarcerated expectant mothers, allowing them to develop positive, life-changing behaviors in a sustainable way.
ReNew also aims to keep more children out of the foster care system. Approximately 40% of children in the Pennsylvania foster care system were removed from their homes because of parental substance abuse or parental incarceration. In May 2019, 15 mothers enrolled in the ReNew program, some whose children had been placed in foster care. By September 2020, there was a 67 percent decrease in the number of mothers whose children were in foster care without a plan for reunification.
Bethany will recognize ReNew’s first graduating class with a message from Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf.
“The mothers graduating have shown strength by entering such an intensive program to help guide them along the path to recovery,” said Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf. “It serves as an inspiration to the Pennsylvania community at large.”
About Bethany Christian Services Bethany is an international Christian nonprofit changing the world through family. Around 75 years ago, we began our work by serving one child. Today, we partner with churches and communities in more than 30 states and nearly a dozen countries to strengthen and preserve families, support refugees and immigrants fleeing danger, and find safe, loving families for children who need them. Bethany demonstrates the love and compassion of Jesus, impacting hundreds of thousands of lives every year, because we believe everyone deserves to be safe, loved, and connected.
