When a loved one is using drugs, the emotional toll on families can be enormous. Fear, guilt, anger, shame and grief can hijack all our energy, leaving us drained and hopeless just when we most need to be strong, informed and resourceful.

Bill Wypyski, head of clinical operations at The Acadia Hospital in Bangor, called last week to tell me about a brand-new Thursday evening support group for families affected by substance abuse and/or mental illness. The free weekly meetings will be facilitated by therapists and clinicians from the hospital and will be responsive to the interests and needs of those who attend, he said.

“Let’s just see who sits down and needs to be heard,” Wypyski said.

This sounds like a great opportunity to learn more about the complex relationship between substance abuse and mental illness while meeting other families coping with the impact of these devastating problems. Certainly, we all need all the support we can get.

The group will meet for the first time from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 19, in the Leonard Boardroom at Acadia Hospital, 268 Stillwater Ave. in Bangor.

Also, on the fourth Wednesday of every other month, beginning Aug. 22, The Acadia Hospital will be host to a free educational program titled “Opioids and Addiction.” It is open to anyone interested in learning more about drugs such as heroin, morphine, OxyContin and other natural and synthetic painkillers. Acadia patients, their family and friends, treatment providers and other interested community members are encouraged to attend.

Come and learn more about where opioid drugs come from, how they work to control pain, their addictive potential and how addiction may be treated. These meetings will be led by Brent Scobie, director of substance abuse services at Acadia.

Mark your calendar now. The next three meetings are scheduled for Aug. 22, Oct. 24 and, due to the winter holidays, Jan. 23, 2008. Meetings run from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

For information on either of these two groups, call Acadia at 973-6100 or toll-free in Maine, 800-640-1212. Information is also available at the hospital’s Web site, www.acadiahospital.org.