“Leadership and Collaboration: A Conference for Families and Self-Advocates”

A conference to develop skills in advocacy, leadership and collaboration that will lead to better outcomes for you, your family, and your community!

September 16, 2010 9-4

Lake Morey Resort Fairlee, Vermont

Our morning keynote speaker will be Sandra Spencer, Executive Director of the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, The National Family Voice for Children’s Mental Health

To register http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z99XYZT

“Celebrations, Challenges, and Change”

I have had the great challenge and blessing to be the Executive Director of the Vermont Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health for 6 years. This year, 2010, marks our 20^th year as an organization supporting families in which a child, youth, or young adult is experiencing or at risk to experience emotional, behavioral or mental health challenges.

Although our name is an extremely long one, it carries with it an affiliation to the national Federation of Families, and that is something to be proud of. The Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health is the nation's top advocate for the rights of children with mental health needs and their families. The Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health is a family-run organization established in 1989 by a group of Parents with Children experiencing Mental Health challenges. The National Federation of Families is dedicated exclusively to helping these children and their families achieve a better quality of life. Currently, the Federation represents the interests of thousands of families across the United States.

In Vermont around that same time, Judy Sturtevant, a mother of a young son with intense behavioral and emotional needs was also trying to get the help her son and family needed. She first found a succession of closed doors. Judy was persistent and became instrumental in working with many other people concerned about children’s mental health to create the system of care for children’s mental health we have today. Judy had the opportunity to work with other parents nationally to create the National Federation of Families. She found many other parents in Vermont, who were also struggling with the intense needs of their children. She started leading support groups for many of these families and started this family- run, family support organization that supports many families in Vermont each year. The Vermont Federation of Families was the first state chapter of the national Federation of Families.

While we are an organization, we are first and foremost parents and family members of someone who has a disability that has a major impact on his/her and our lives. The Vermont Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health is a small, family run, non profit organization that exists to support families and children where a child or youth, age 0-22, is experiencing or at risk to experience emotional, behavioral, or mental health challenges. The Federation is committed to:

§ Providing families needed emotional and informational support.

§ Advocating for families and children to receive needed supports and services

§ Promoting the creation of a full array of easily accessible, high quality, family-centered services needed on a state and local level.

The Federation collaborates with schools, communities, governmental, and private agencies, and other advocacy organizations to achieve these ends.

The past several years here in Vermont and in the world have been some of the most difficult for our state, national and even global economies. No surprise they are also proving to be much more difficult for families of children, youth and young adults with disabilities. The statistics for our families, even in better economic times, are grim. We face much higher rates than the general public in many categories: poverty, divorce and family break up, auto immune diseases in the parents- more often the mothers.. The person in our family with the disability is not the problem. The high levels of stress a family faces in assisting and supporting their family member with a disability in a world where finding services and supports is a job in and of it-self takes its toll. Nothing about advocating for our children and families is easy. The systems we need to get services from keep changing.

One sad change this year has been the loss of our system of Peer Navigators on June 30, 2010. Peer Navigation has been an important part of our system of care for the past 6 years. Peers are people who have been there, experienced disability in many ways that the families we serve have, and have had to navigate the system of care for their families. In Vermont, we have had 1 part time Peer Navigator for each of our 12 Agency of Human Services districts. Families served include those with a parent or child with a disability. Our Peer Navigators have served over 1000 families in difficult situations during the past 6 years. Many thanks to each and every Peer Navigator who has taken up the challenge to assist families in their own communities!

This story is not done yet, though. Although the federal grant that funded this project is gone, but much work has been going on and will continue to find/create the funding to continue this valuable service to Vermont Families.

Kathy Holsopple

Executive Director