The home visitor bringing lived experience to families in recovery
“You see this … light come back into their eyes.”
That’s how Jaclyn Carnevale described the moment when caregivers discover the value of partnership and the deep sense of their own accomplishment.
“They finally realize, like, not only are they supported,” she said, “but [also] we’re not doing the work. They are.”
Carnevale is a peer recovery specialist with Parents as Teachers in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. She works with families in recovery, integrating the parenting journey with the path of recovery. As she delivers the home visiting model, she applies the elements of Parents as Teachers to recovery as one aspect of the journey.
“We use those skills, goal setting, resource connections, things like that, to build recovery into their parenting,” she said. “So it’s not looked at as two separate things.”
This holistic approach is unique – her program is the only one in the Parents as Teachers network with peer recovery specialists on the team. In fact, she piloted the role in 2018; now, she supervises two peer recovery specialists and two other parent educators.
Carnevale’s title highlights one of the particular qualifications for this position – she herself has walked the journey of recovery. Because of this, she offers a perspective that’s often missing from support conversations.
“We remember sitting across from professionals that didn’t really understand,” she said. “That just said, ‘Yeah, I understand.'”
It’s her first-hand experience that gives her and her team empathy for others walking the same path she’s tread. She also serves as an example; as a person in recovery who is also an accomplished professional and engaged parent, Carnevale proves that moving forward is more than possible.
And forward movement is the goal.
“We’re not working with families to get them back to the life they had before substance use,” Carnevale said. “We’re working with families to build a new life in recovery.”
In that work, partnership is key. The goal, Carnevale said, is to foster independence through support. For example, a visit to the pediatrician can be fraught with concerns for a parent in recovery, when the fear of encountering stigma can loom large. Carnevale occasionally accompanies caregivers on trips like this, noting that the simple act of presence can make a difference. In guiding parents through the situation, she aims to direct them toward a broader view.
“Let the other stuff shine through,” she said, like asking the doctor proactive child development questions. “We don’t always have to lead with, ‘Hey, I made bad choices at one point.”
It’s this kind of intentional, contextualized support – weaving the everyday challenges and opportunities of parenthood with the specific nuances of recovery – that makes Carnevale’s role so powerful. It’s also given her experiences and skills that she’s ready to share with others.
Thanks to a grant from Elevance Health Foundation, the Parents as Teachers National Center is currently working to enhance supports available for parent educators walking with families negatively affected by substance use. The current phase of the project involves a learning community comprised of parent educators across eight states; Carnevale is one of them.
Together, they share the insights they’ve gained in the field, collaborating to identify areas of possible development or change within the network’s training, guidance, or curriculum.
Carnevale hopes to see the peer recovery work spread across the Parents as Teachers network; this vision compelled her to join the learning community. Just as in her recovery work, she knows first-hand what it takes, and she’s ready to support others walking the same path.
“I don’t want anybody to ever feel like I have all the answers, because I don’t,” she said. “But who better to give the information than somebody that’s done it?”