About 200 practitioners, advocates, students and policymakers attended an Oct. 19 webinar, “The Story of SEEDs,” which outlined the history, success and challenges of the Support, Education, Empowerment and Directions (SEEDs) program.
The virtual event discussed the trauma-informed, gender-responsive, sober living home program for women with histories of substance abuse and domestic and/or sexual violence. Discussion topics included costs associated with running SEEDs, program implementation barriers, lessons learned and next steps for continued sustainability.
Current and past program participants shared success stories of promoting recovery among women with histories of addiction and victimization, and answered questions about their experiences in the program.
The presentation is available on video.
The event was hosted by Katie Edwards, associate professor, CYFS and educational psychology, and director of the Interpersonal Violence Research Laboratory; MonaLou Callery, founder and executive director of the National Advocacy & Training Network (NATN); and Laura Siller, postdoctoral fellow, Interpersonal Violence Research Laboratory.
“Attendees were highly engaged and many commented on how appreciative they were to hear stories of recovery from SEEDs program participants,” Edwards said.
Established in 2003 to address unmet needs of women with histories of addiction and victimization, SEEDs is a gender-responsive, trauma-informed recovery program that provides safe, sober housing to women affected by substance abuse and violence. There are three SEEDs homes — in Chandler, Mesa and Phoenix, Arizona — that promote recovery among women with histories of addiction and sexual and/or domestic violence victimization.