WHO WE ARE
The UP Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c) 3 organization focused on creating recovery-ready communities and services for people who are seeking and needing recovery from substance use and mental health disorders. We offer a comprehensive program of counseling and recovery support services with an emphasis on education, prevention and treatment. With the support and involvement of their families, friends, and loved ones, we empower people to take responsibility for their recovery and mental health by providing them with the resources, tools and support necessary to help them achieve and maintain wellbeing and take charge of their futures.
WHAT WE DO
We have a youth-oriented recovery counseling program and peer leadership and recovery coaching that allows young people struggling with substance issues to get the focused help and support that they need while continuing to live at home. Parents are educated and empowered with effective tools and strategies to provide for their child and the family as well. However, our services are not limited to the youth in this area, at The UP Foundation, we work very closely with community agencies to provide therapeutic treatment solutions to all people in their fight against the disease of addiction. In addition to our well-trained staff, we provide a positive peer-to-peer support environment for people that encourages them to strive toward their unlimited potential by living substance free lives.
We also offer counseling services and support to help people, in all walks of life, work through their mental health struggles. Our counselors are able to provide caring support and education about mental health through individual counseling, group counseling, and other support services.
OUR HISTORY
Substance use among young people in Central Virginia is comparable to those of national norms. The prevalence of substance use in our area cuts across all demographics in our community, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or even supportive home life and parental involvement. Many parents report feeling extremely distraught and worried when they find out that their child is using substances, and are at a loss regarding how best to help their child get the level of recovery support services and treatment that they need. This is particularly true for most households that cannot afford inpatient or residential rehab treatment services.
For many young people struggling with substance use problems, traditional forms of counseling alone have met with only marginal results. To be successful in one’s recovery, it is well known that one must change people, places and things associated with using. This is extremely challenging for young people who attempt to stop using while continuing to attend school and live in their home community, where so many of their friends are still using drugs or alcohol.
The UP Foundation is a non-profit organization specifically designed to address the needs of young people and their families in our community who are struggling with issues of substance use. Our aim is to help young people avoid, abstain and recover from substance use, and in so doing, help them to strive toward and maximize their Unlimited Potential by remaining free from active addiction, hence the name UP was chosen. The UP Foundation is based on a novel approach for our community that provides recovery support services based on an Alternative Peer Group model that has shown proven success in other cities. Our goal is to provide a positive, youth oriented recovery environment where young people can get the substance use treatment and support services that they need while helping them to begin to develop relationships with other youth who are having fun and enjoying life free from substance use. This is a vitally important part of the APG model.
At The UP Foundation, we are deeply committed to join in the effort to make Lynchburg and surrounding counties a more recovery ready community for persons of all ages, and to build upon and strengthen the recovery oriented system of care in our area by providing recovery support services specifically designed for young people. Our aim is to work with the school system, social services and juvenile court systems and other youth - oriented programs and services to serve as a much needed resource in our community.
