Help For Families
Support
Parent Support Groups
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Find an in-person support group in Northeast Ohio
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Login to an online support group where you can connect with other parents across the U.S.
Self Care
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Because self care is so important for caregivers, learn how you can stay healthy while carrying the burden of caring for your child with these tips and self care videos.
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Several times a year, we have Wellness Events for Caregivers including sound healing, yoga, guided meditation, and artistic healing arts.
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For Caregivers
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Join our online Caregiver Connections group to share stories, ask questions, and more.
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And don't miss our Caregiver tool kit so that you're prepared when an emergency happens.
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Building Personal Resilience
For Parents & Families
HeartMath is a science-based practice that focuses on creating coherence between your heart and mind, thus allowing you to learn how to build resilience and better regulate your emotions and how you react to stress. Tuning into your heart’s wisdom creates a profound shift within that helps you approach situations with more emotional balance, compassion, clarity and personal confidence. HeartMath is an incredible tool for parents -- all parents -- but especially for those parents struggling with caring for children with mental health challenges. By learning some easy-to-master techniques that strengthen your heart-mind connection and improve coherence, you can build resilience to stress and find yourself better able to manage daily stressors and life's unexpected events. Over time, some people have been able to lower their high blood pressure.
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HeartMath is taught in small groups by a trained facilitator who has been certified by the HeartMath Institute. Be sure to check our event schedule to find a group session for Parents Only that fits your schedule, or you can email us to schedule an in-person or virtual session for you or your family.
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How much does it cost?
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, HeartMath (TM) Training is free to parents, students, teachers through online special events in Lorain and Cuyahoga Counties, Ohio. Be sure to to check our event schedule or sign up for our newsletter to stay "in the loop." We also offer free, grant-funded trainings teachers and students in Lorain and Cuyahoga County schools.
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Family Peer Support Services are focused, personalized one-on-one sessions with parents alone, with parents and a child with mental health challenges, or with the whole family with a Certified Family Peer Supporter. These sessions are free to parents and families and can be conducted in person or virtually.
We recommend that parents join a family mental health support group in addition to receiving Family Peer Support services when you need personalized help to work on family goals and connect with resources. This approach provides the best support for families: the ability to connect with others just like you AND one-on-one support to meet your family's specific needs. ​
Peer-Led Resilience & Recovery
for Families
What happens during a session?
Family Peer Support sessions start with us getting to know one another and a discussion of your needs and goals. Peer support specialists are people just like you who have lived experience caring for a child with mental health challenges from a young age to adulthood. You'll share stories, plan to achieve your goals, and get connected to resources that will help you along your family's journey to wellness, balance, and resilience. We know that often this is a difficult, "up and down" journey, and we're here to help you along the way.
What does it cost?
Family Peer Support is covered by grant funding and are generally free, but because we depend on donations to help historically marginalized communities, we ask that those who can to donate what they can and when they can. We offer FREE services for everyone whenever we can, thanks to the generosity of our donors.
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Back to School: From Emotions to Advocacy
From the Wrights Law book of the same name, From Emotions to Advocacy is for parents who are either in process of getting accommodations for their child or want to and don't know exactly how to do so. In this 1-day, 2-1/2 hour workshop, we talk about how to advocate for your child, talk about developing a working relationship with your child, discuss the difference between an IEP and a 504 Plan, help you develop a manageable Master Plan for your child's educational journey, and more. This class is led by a former teacher and parent of a child with a major mental illness who has experienced and triumphed over the frustrations that seeking accomodations for a child with mental health challenges can bring.
This is a low-cost workshop with a fee of $25 per family to help cover the cost of materials, including a copy of the Wrights Law Emotions to Advocacy book (retail $19.95), a template for your child's plan, various handouts, and more. The workshop will be offered in-person in Lorain County and online. (Materials will be mailed or available for download to virtual participants.)
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Workshops will be scheduled soon for Fall 2024!
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NAMI Lorain County offers this free, 6-session education program for parents, caregivers and other family members who provide care for youth (ages 22 and younger) who are experiencing mental health symptoms.
99% of participants say they would recommend the program to others. NAMI Basics is available both in person and online through NAMI Basics OnDemand.
The in-person course is taught by a trained team with lived experience raising a child with a mental health condition. They know what you’re going through because they've been there too.
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