If you're a pregnant or parenting mother wondering where to start with recovery, custody concerns, or finding services, Mackenzie Hamann, Certified Parent Instructor and Case Manager at Our Hope Association, and Jillian Ring, LLMSW CAADC-DP, Clinical Therapist at Our Hope Association, explain how women's specialty services work. They define the whole-person approach that combines residential support for substance use and mental health, help navigating CPS as a resource, parenting education, and parent-child bonding supports. You’ll hear how staff connect clients to PCPs, OB‑GYNs, dental and vision care, and community partners like Michigan Works for employment and housing resources, often helping schedule and attend appointments so connections are solid. The discussion emphasizes family preservation, practical steps to build supports before discharge, and ongoing community programs clients can continue after treatment.
Women's Specialty Services at Our Hope Association
Mackenzie Hamann, B.S. | Jillian Ring, LLMSW CAADC-DP
Mackenzie is a Case Manager at Our Hope Association with a passion for supporting individuals as they navigate healing, recovery, and meaningful life change. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology with a concentration in Youth Studies and is also a Certified Parent Instructor.
Her professional background includes working with survivors of sexual aggression as well as adolescents who have engaged in sexually harmful behaviors. These experiences have helped shape her trauma-informed, person-centered approach and have given her a deeper understanding of the complex ways trauma, relationships, family systems, behavior, and life experiences can intersect.
In her current role at Our Hope Association, she has the privilege of working alongside women in substance use recovery. Her work includes case management, advocacy, resource coordination, life-skills education, parenting support, and recovery-focused programming. She is especially passionate about helping women recognize their strengths, rebuild their confidence, navigate barriers, and create lives that support their long-term recovery and personal growth.
Mackenzie works to bring compassion, creativity, humor, and authenticity into the work she does and believes meaningful change happens when people feel supported, respected, and empowered to take an active role in their own lives. She is grateful to have the opportunity to walk alongside women as they work toward the lives they want for themselves.
Jillian has served as a Clinical Therapist with the Our Hope team since 2024. She brings a diverse combination of professional expertise and lived experience to her work, allowing her to connect with and support individuals from a place of both compassion and understanding.
Throughout her career, Jillian has worked in a variety of mental health and social service roles, including Case Manager, Mental Health Clinical Therapist, and, most recently, Substance Abuse Clinical Therapist.
Jillian’s passion for helping others is deeply rooted in her personal experiences. Growing up with both parents living with bipolar disorder and experiencing the impact of substance abuse throughout her childhood, she developed a deep understanding of the challenges individuals and families can face.
These experiences have shaped Jillian’s commitment to meeting people where they are, offering compassionate support, and helping individuals recognize their strengths as they navigate their own journeys toward healing and hope.
Women's Specialty Services at Our Hope Association
Gina Kaye (Host): Welcome to Hope Beyond Addiction, a podcast by Our Hope Association, a nonprofit that provides hope, healing growth, and recovery to women located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I'm Gina Kaye. And with me are Jillian Ring, who is a clinical therapist, and Mackenzie Hamman, who is a case manager, both working at Our Hope Association.
Today, we will discuss women's specialty services. Let's dive into our questions, because I know we have a lot to cover. So to begin, what does the phrase women's specialty services actually mean?
Mackenzie Hamann, BS: To me, really, women's specialty services means—it's recognizing that we are helping and treating the woman as a whole, not just the substance use. We recognize that a lot of individuals come into our treatment facility with a lot more needs than just the substance use. So, we are addressing all of those needs in order to achieve long-lasting recovery, not just recovery while we're in treatment.
Host: Great. How does Our Hope incorporate women's specialty services into its programming?
Jillian Ring, LLMSW CAADC-DP: At Our Hope, we provide a safe, supportive, and structured environment where women can focus not only on addressing issues in recovery of substance abuse, but also of mental health concerns and things like that as well.
Host: Many people worry that seeking help during pregnancy will automatically lead to CPS involvement or even losing custody. How do you work with Child Protective Services to support family preservation rather than separation?
Mackenzie Hamann, BS: So, one of my biggest things is if an individual comes in with a CPS involvement already, is I very much encourage them to utilize them as a resource, that that CPS worker, anybody who you are working with, they know the system the best, and they are there to give you resources and to help you along the way.
Coming in without CPS involvement, really understanding that asking for help is the best thing you can do as a parent. It is our job as parents to identify the needs our children have, but it is not our job to have everything and every single resource right then and there. It is our job essentially to be the case manager for our children and get those resources or make the connections for those needs that we aren't able to fill without some help.
Host: So, what kinds of parenting classes do you offer or will you begin offering, and how are they tailored for women in early recovery who may also be coping with trauma, mental health issues, or even limited social support?
Mackenzie Hamann, BS: So, I am actually a certified parent instructor through the state of Michigan. So, I can conduct, parenting classes, can give people certificates for DHS, for court proceedings. And it's based off of this book, it's Parenting in the 21st Century: The 10 Tools for Parenting by Ari Novick and Martine Weir. Apologies if I pronounced that last name completely wrong. But this is a fantastic curriculum because it really breaks it down into 10 different categories, so you're not just getting everything all at once, and each tool builds off of each other
Host: I love that. How do you coordinate with OB-GYN providers, pediatricians, even primary care clinicians to ensure safe integrated care during pregnancy delivery and the postpartum period?
Mackenzie Hamann, BS: So, that is actually a big part of my job. That is literally what my job is, getting clients these resources that they need, making sure that they're connected to a PCP, an OB-GYN even a dentist, vision, the whole nine yards. So, we're really doing an overarching treatment program and treatment plan. So, we're meeting all of those needs. So, a lot of times it's simply connecting them to those providers. They'll come in without them, so making sure that not only we establish a PCP, but we get to that appointment. And then, while we're there at the appointment, make sure we're getting those referrals for an OB-GYN or whatever we would need in that moment. But making sure that those connections are made and they are solid, not just any old PCP, but a PCP who understands recovery and what it actually entails.
Host: That's fantastic. How do you support healthy bonding and attachment between mothers and infants in your residential program?
Jillian Ring, LLMSW CAADC-DP: So, we believe the mother and child relationship is a very important part of recovery while mothers and infants are able to be together safely here at Our Hope and work on the bonding aspect of that.
Mackenzie Hamann, BS: A big thing to help with, like, the bond I also reach out to other, resources. So, Bright Beginnings is one that is huge, and their motto is the parent is a child's first teacher. So, I really connect them with Bright Beginnings because that teaches them not only how to play with their children, but how to care for them, how to ask for things in another fashion other than me just getting them in a parenting course.
And this is an organization they can continue to work with when they're outside of treatment. So, it starts while they're here in treatment, and then they continue working with them once they leave our facility. So, making sure that they have other supports that's teaching them how to bond with their children and the most important ways to do it.
Host: Can you describe how you collaborate with community partners such as housing agencies, employment programs, or early childhood services to support mothers both during and after they leave residential treatment?
Mackenzie Hamann, BS: Oh, yeah. So, community resources is huge because residential treatment's temporary. But recovery is long-term and it continues forever after they leave us. So, connecting them to those community resources and knowing those community resources can hugely make the difference in somebody's recovery.
Sending somebody out of treatment without any resources, that is a very risky situation. But making sure that they are connected to those community partners, especially like Michigan Works. We have Michigan Works come into our facility just about every month, every other month, and they'll run a resume writing workshop and then a career navigation workshop as well.
So, we're already getting them connected with Michigan Works. So once they're able to leave our facility, they can continue working with them to solidify that final employment once they leave our facility.
Host: Fantastic. If a mother is listening right now and needs help finding recovery, what would you want her to know?
Mackenzie Hamann, BS: I would really want to emphasize that asking for help does not make you a failure whatsoever. That makes you an amazing parent and shows how much you care for your children. That sometimes asking for help is the only choice that we have, and it is an absolute amazing choice, and we are here to support no matter where you are in that process.
You do not have to have everything figured out before you come into treatment. You don't have to have every single I dotted, every single T crossed by any means. That is what we are here for. We are here to help you through that. She just needs to take the first step in getting here. Then, we can take all the other steps along with her.
Jillian Ring, LLMSW CAADC-DP: I just wanted to reiterate kind of what Kenzie said, wanting the mothers to know that they're not alone or anyone who comes to treatment know that they're not alone. It's not too late to change the direction of their life. You don't have to have everything figured out, kind of like Kenzie said. We can help you, guide you in the way that treatment is given to you or how you go about it. But you just simply have to take that next step and ask for that help.
Host: As we wrap up, are there any parting words of wisdom either of you would like to leave our listeners on this topic?
Mackenzie Hamann, BS: Needing education in parenting, once again, does not mean that you're a bad parent at all. That means that you're aware enough of yourself, and you're aware enough and you're willing to grow and learn and educate yourself, which is what we're doing. We're growing and educating our children, so we have to continue to grow and educate ourselves You're never alone. That's pretty much it.
Host: Perfect. Jillian and Mackenzie, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and your time. It's very easy to see how passionate you are for this program, and I am sure you're helping many.
Mackenzie Hamann, BS: Yes, absolutely. We are blessed to be able to do what we do.
Host: Thank you for listening to Our Hope Association's Hope Beyond Addiction podcast. If you found this information helpful, please share it on your own social media channels. If you are interested in more information about the services of Our Hope Association, please visit ourhopeassociation.org. Thanks for listening.