Thoughts from Our Families

“Homeward Bound changed everything in our family—in a good way. My confidence as a parent is off the charts. And now I have a chance to parent my other two children differently.”

“I shudder when I think of the uncertainty that my family faced just one year ago. Our son's recovery was nothing short of a miracle. This past year has been wonderful, and we have Homeward Bound to thank. The lessons learned in the desert and in our living room, continue to be referred to.”

“Thanks for a GREAT three days. In many ways we feel like we got more done in that time than we had in the previous year and a half (in outpatient therapy). The clarity, perspective and direction that came from the home visit gave us hope and a plan for moving forward. We can already see the difference it is making!”

“It was not an easy decision to have Homeward Bound come and work with us. I think the biggest stumbling block for us was the home visit. It was hard to think about opening our home, marriage, and family up to strangers. However, once the decision was made, it turned out to be one of the best decisions that we ever made. We stood as a couple with our family and said—by our actions—that our family was important enough for us to do this. I think that got both of our kid's attention. The visit was not intrusive. I did not feel judged. We had a lot of laughs and we learned some basic tools to use. We were able to develop a plan for our family. The home visit—the scariest part of Homeward Bound for us—was monumental and indispensable.”

“You need to be prepared to handle your child and situations differently than you did before. We realized that if we went back to our old habits it could possibly undo all that we had achieved so far. Using Homeward Bound helped us to keep the voice of reason in our thinking and in our actions. They helped us see what we were doing right, what we could work on, and really helped us rebuild our confidence as parents.”

“If you are bringing your child home from a wilderness program, therapeutic boarding school or residential treatment center, you need help. Your child goes from daily therapy, 24/7 supervision and programming, to the same environment that they left with limited therapy. The support the parent received from the program disappears and you feel as though you are on a boat without a paddle. Homeward Bound plays a vital role in the transition back home for both the parents and the teen. The staff at Homeward Bound are incredibly professional, discreet and prepared. I cannot think of one conversation where we did not come out with solid, pragmatic and effective ideas for how to better manage our relationship with our teens. This program is not theoretical, it is all about action and process and it works. Our Transition Coach is a great teacher, coach and therapist rolled into one. He is incredibly organized and remembers everything. He is equally unafraid to confront a parent or a teen and let them know what he thinks.”