Our Why
1 in 5 youth face the stress and stigma of a parent's substance use, leading to increased risks for mental health issues, substance use challenges, and intergenerational trauma. We address the lack of resources and support by building up peer leaders, increasing the capacity and understanding of the community, and developing resources which aim to prevent harm, foster healing, and disrupt the cycle of stress and stigma across generations.
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But it didn't start off so formally, it started with a story.
Our Founding Story
Knowing what it felt like to grow up with the stress and stigma of a parent's substance use, our founder, Agnes, had a dream: that every youth growing up in similar situations could feel seen, supported, and unafraid to seek out support. But turning a dream into reality, especially one so complex and sensitive is no small feat. So in 2021, she founded Starlings Community as a not-for-profit. Since then, our vision has only grown stronger with every shared story, every new resource, and every community member joining our collective mission:
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To create a society where every youth growing up with the challenges of a parent's substance use can
seek out support without the fear of stigma and other barriers.
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Inspired by the founder's professional experience as a registered nurse, and trauma-informed consultant, and personal experience with the stress and stigma of a parent's substance use, Starlings was born to fill a large gap in knowledge, resources, and relationships for impacted youth and the natural supports caring for them.
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Today, Starlings is fueled by the passion of a collective of peers and allies, who are committed to disrupting the intergenerational effects of substance use stigma, ensuring every youth can reach out for support without fear of discrimination, parental criminalization, or family seperation.
Our mission is to promote the health and healing of people affected by the stress and stigma of a parent's substance use through peer empowerment, resource development and dissemination, and community capacity building.
We imagine a future where every youth can access resources, relationships, and support without fear or shame.
Our Guiding Principles
01.
Noting About Us Without Us: Starlings respects the lived experience of young people impacted by the stress and stigma of a parent's substance use as legitimate and valuable. Our goal of knowledge equity is to ensure that impacted individuals are not just involved as participants, but as partners and co-creators of research, policy, and practices, while ensuring equitable access to information for the youth and parents we serve.
02.
Knowledge Equity: We believe that everyone deserves equal access to information and resources, regardless of their background or personal circumstances. By promoting knowledge equity, we empower young affected by the stigma of a parent’s substance use, ensuring they have the tools and understanding to navigate their experiences. This principle ensures everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute to the community's collective well-being.
03.
Healing-Centred Approaches: At Starlings, we believe in the inherent resiliency of the families we serve and aim to facilitate their collective healing from the intergenerational consequences of substance use stigma. We are confident that the most effective way to ensure health and healing flourish in a community is to remove structural barriers that harm families by implementing holistic and collective approaches to care rooted in lived experience and anti-oppressive approaches.
04.
Children's Rights From a Family-Centred Lens: Informed by the UN convention on the rights of a child, we believe that every young person has a right to a healthy family, a right to support, a right to knowledge, and a right to access healing supports without fear of harm. In addition, we believe every parent has a right to support in raising their children to thrive without conditions.
Our Priority Areas
Peer Mentorship
Through our peer programs and volunteer opportunities, we mentor individuals who have been affected by the stress and stigma of a parent's substance use to contextualize their experiences and lead systemic changes to support youth and their families.
Family and Community Capacity Building
Through resource development, programming, and training, we are building the capacity of family members and professionals to support the health and well-being of young people and their parents without stigma.
Education, Awareness, and Advocacy
We produce and disseminate knowledge based on our lived experiences and needs, intended to support the hope and healing of our peers, empower allies committed to youth well-being, and inform policy that can ensure every family can access resources without fear of stigma and other harms.