NAMI NC/CASE-Young Families

Young Families

"[This program has enabled our family to]

learn more about neurological disorders and various treatments available.

To be more informed to make decisions about treatment.

To understand our children's rights at school.

Most importantly to realize that we are not alone and it’s not our fault.

To share and be with other families with similar experiences.

To move beyond shame and embarrassment to acceptance and hope and finding solutions …"

From Young Families participant evaluation, Henderson County, N.C., January 2000.

The Young Families program is original with NAMI North Carolina, and has been pilot-tested in two locations for the past three years (1998-2001). It is designed to meet the needs of school-aged children diagnosed with Serious Emotional Disorders (SED), with a series of initiatives:

family education – regular meetings designed to help parents (sometimes grandparents or other family members) understand the neurobiological bases of the illnesses they are facing, the special educational needs of their children, treatment options, and how other parents have coped;

family support – volunteer "mentors" or paid staff who help young parents through the schools’ Individual Education Planning process, provide emotional support, and help the families connect with community-based resources; and

training for teachers and other school personnel (nurses, guidance counselors, etc.) in recognizing symptoms of SED in younger children and responding appropriately. Thus far we have trained 2,000 teachers and other school staff.

Each site is managed by a Family Advocate – an experienced professional who has had a family member, of his/her own, suffer one or more serious emotional disorders. The Advocate recruits and trains the volunteer mentors, who provide support and education to the families. Plans call to double the number of Family Advocates from two to four for the 2001-02 fiscal year.

Funding for the program has been primarily from grants: from the Sandhills Center for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services; from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (for the 1999-2000 year only) and the Community Foundation of Henderson County (2001-02); and from the Child and Family Services Section of the N.C. Division of Mental Health. Additional funds have been allocated by the NAMI North Carolina Board from monies received from individual and corporate contributions. The budget supports a part-time Coordinator on the NAMI North Carolina staff, the Family Advocates’ contracts, and related expenses.

Much more is needed, and you can help! There are literally thousands of North Carolina teachers who need our workshop and reference materials on mental illness in school-aged children. Young family members across the state would welcome Family Advocates to their communities if funding could be found.

What your gift could pay for:
Set of reference materials for one school	$ 125
Scholarship for family to attend national conference	1,000
Operate advocacy/support field office for 1 month	$ 3,500

"Extremely helpful. Glad to have solutions and suggestions. Thanks so much for coming." From a teacher/school personnel training evaluation, September 15, 1999.

At a recent NAMI North Carolina conference, attendees who had children with serious emotional disorders (SED) were asked to identify their greatest need. The answer was "training teachers to recognize and understand the needs of our children."