30 years of parents helping parents
One of my strongest memories in Changes was the time I tried to thank a tenured member for helping my husband and me through one of the darkest stretches of our parenting journey. We were exhausted, overwhelmed, and doubting we’d never find our footing again – with our kid and with each other. They had listened, steadied us, and reminded us—gently but firmly—that we could do this. When I finally managed to say, “We can’t possibly thank you enough,” they smiled and replied, “You thank us by helping other parents when you are able.” At the time, I didn’t fully understand what that meant. Now, years later and out of crisis, I see that moment as the heartbeat of Changes Parent Support Network.
That simple idea—parents helping parents, paying forward the support they once received—has sustained Changes for thirty years. No marketing machine. No professional staff running a complex operation. Just a structured, peer-led program built on solid tools, lived experience, shared wisdom, and the belief that real change begins when parents shift their own behavior. What started in 1996 as a small group of Seattle-based parents trying to survive their own crises has grown into a nationwide network offering hope, tools, and community to families facing some of the most painful challenges imaginable.
What amazes me most is how evergreen the model remains. The world has changed dramatically since those early days—technology, culture, the pressures on families—but the core needs of parents navigating a child’s harmful or self-destructive behavior haven’t. Parents still need a place where they can breathe. A place where they can speak honestly without judgment. A place where they can learn accountability, boundaries, and self-respect from others who have walked the same road. Changes continues to meet those needs not because it reinvented itself every decade, but because our founders built something timeless.
Even now, with meetings happening across the country and online, with thousands of families having passed through our doors, the essence remains beautifully simple. Tenured members don’t offer advice; they share their experience. They don’t claim to fix anyone’s child; they help parents reclaim their own strength. And every parent who finds stability, clarity, or courage is invited to do what that earlier member asked of me: help the next person when you can.
As we celebrate thirty years, I find myself returning to that moment of gratitude—and the response that shaped everything that followed. Changes has endured because each generation of parents has chosen to lift the next. It’s a living chain of compassion, accountability, and resilience. And as long as parents keep showing up for one another, this network will continue to thrive, one shared story and one steadying hand at a time.
Call us at 888-468-2620 to determine if we’re the right group for you. You’ll talk to a real person who can help you assess your family situation and if Changes can help you.
