“The most powerful two words when we’re in struggle: me too.”
This quote from Brene Brown sums up parent peer support and is expounded upon in this video about parent peer support from the National Federation of Families.
Parent peer support allows parents and caregivers of children with disabilities and other challenges to provide support, a listening ear and assistance with system navigation and other practical information to other parents in their shoes. Parent peer support is a key part of family-driven practice and it can also make traditional medical and mental health services work more effectively.
Families as Allies is committed to supporting parent peer support across systems in Mississippi. We encourage any parent or caregiver who is interested in providing parent peer support in the mental health system to sign up for peer support training through the Department of Mental Health (Families as Allies does the training specific to parents) which is taking place November 16 -20. You can download the application packet online. If you have questions about the application packet or would like support in completing it, feel free to contact us at 601-355-0915.
If you work in children’s mental health services and know families who have navigated systems and advocated for their own children, please encourage them to consider the training.
We encourage any parent providing parent to parent support in any system to join us at noon on Wednesday, October 21, for our monthly coaching and support session. Register for that session via our events calendar.
We are always happy to answer your questions about parent peer support or provide you with more information in general.
