Working for a Cause: Parent-4-A-Change Gives Way to My Bottom Line

When Mary Marcuccio started Parents-4-A-Change more than six years ago, the group was designed to be a supportive network for those affected by drug use and a coalition to raise awareness.

Marcuccio never could have imagined the success that the group had – so much in fact, it made it impossible for Marcuccio, who founded the group, to continue to meet the needs of area residents on a part-time, volunteer basis.

So Parents-4-A-Change is no more, instead giving way to “My Bottom Line,” a full-time business dedicated to providing complete consultation services for families dealing with substance abuse.

“I’ve had Parents-4-A-Change for six years and it was all non-profit and volunteer,” Marcuccio said. “We were able to do a lot of things, personal things, and help families struggling with drug issues. Looking at the bigger issue though, I was unable continue in all volunteer capacity and I wanted to do more.”

So Marcuccio, with support from members of the group, decided to change the format and open her own consultation business. The business, she said, will “essentially do same thing (Parents-4-A-Change) has always done; provide support-oriented services and help families in crisis.”

Parents-4-A-Change initially began as a personal project for Marcuccio, who founded the group in 2007 after her own son’s struggles. In that time, the organization was able to touch people across the nation and was even featured in several national reports on ABC and in the New York Times.

For many who took advantage of the support such as the Hoffman family, the help provided relief they could not find elsewhere.

The support and information that the Hoffman family received through Marcuccio’s Southington-based organization Parents-4-A-Change helped Barbara Hoffman, a college student now about to celebrate her 21st birthday and working towards a degree as a drug abuse counselor, to turn her life around.

“The support they provided to our family when things were tough, it saved my daughter’s life,” said Joanne Hoffman, Barbara’s mother, in a 2012 interview. “Mary was there when we had no one else to turn to, when I was crying on the phone at 2 a.m. She walked us through every step of the crisis.”

Hoffman had spent almost four years at that point fighting addictions with alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, Ecstasy and prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Xanax. Then 18, she believed recovery was no longer an option until she received alternative opportunities from Parent-4-A-Change.

Although the new organization is “for profit,” Marcuccio said the business isn’t about making money. Instead, she hopes to provide just enough income to continue expanding programs to not only help support those in need, but do even more for families like the Hoffmans.

“The name, My Bottom Line, represents everything we are trying to do,” Marcuccio said. “The bottom line is finding a way to combat drug abuse, working with families one on one to give more of the support they need and raising awareness.”

The organization has already put together a comprehensive website that includes resources for residents, www.mybottomline.info. In the future, Marcuccio says she hopes to be able to hire staff and expand reach through the state and beyond.

For more information, visit the website or email Mary Marcuccio at mary@mybottomline.info.

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