Welcome! You are not Alone!
We are family members, or caregivers with children with special health care needs. It is our lived experience as a family member that set us apart. We promote recovery and wellness in our loved ones and ourselves through the concepts of hope, self-advocacy, education, peer support, personal responsibility and resiliency. We believe that these concepts are universal regardless of what recovery program you may chose. We are a member based organization with a board of directors and staff. Our main office is located in Ennis, Montana, our staff and board of directors are located across Montana.
What is a Family Peer Supporter?
A Family Peer Supporter is a parent or caregiver with lived experience raising a child with a behavioral health challenge and/or special healthcare need along with training who provides support to another parent or caregiver who is currently raising a child with a behavioral health challenge and/or special healthcare need. The Family Peer Supporter works directly with the parent or caregiver, not the child, providing emotional support, resources, and connection to community.
What does a Family Peer Supporter do?
- engages in empathetic listening and promotes positive feelings towards utilizing services
- provides flexible, community-based peer support services designed to promote wellness, empowerment, and resiliency
- provides insight and hope
- validates and normalizes feelings of fear and confusion through a shared lived experience
- connects families with community resources and follows up to provide continued support
- helps parents develop natural supports and positive approaches for addressing their family’s day to day needs
- encourages parents to adopt and prioritize self care strategies for themselves
Types of Support
Emotional Support– provides connection from people who have “been there.”
Informational Support- includes providing connections to resources, making referrals, and giving information about the children’s health system.
Educational Support- focuses on helping you understand your child's needs, increasing your knowledge and skills, and guiding you in accessing your natural supports.
Concrete Support- includes things such as helping arrange childcare and transportation, finding support groups, and assistance in developing recovery plans.
Beth Ayers
Family Peer Support Lead
Children's Clinic
Billings
406.451.3087
Email Beth
Kayla Myers
Family Peer Supporter
Children's Clinic
Billings
406.613.8679
Email Kayla
Lea Wetzel
Family Peer Supporter
Benefis
Great Falls
406.224.3826
Email Lea
MPN Circle of Parents
Support Group
Other Montana Circle of Parents Support Groups
Yellowstone Valley Support Group
Third Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm
Church for the City
407 Wicks Lane, Billings
For parents and caregivers raising children with special health care needs and behavioral health challenges.
- Children are welcome
- Child care provided
- Dinner Provided
- Activities and Discussion
For more information, please contact Kayla (406-613-8679).
Benchmark Human Services
Children with special healthcare needs
Hill County, Havre
Amanda Christofferson
406-399-3309
Mineral County Health Dept
Postpartum Mental Health
Mineral, Superior
Jess Schaak
Cell: 406-499-1249
Office: 406-822-3564
Missoula Public School District
Children with special healthcare needs
Missoula County, Missoula
JJ Blood (James)
406-830-8311
Big Horn County Austism Support & Acceptance
Children with special healthcare needs
Big Horn County, Crow Indian Reservation
Luella Brien
Butte 4 C's
Children with special healthcare needs
Silver Bow, Butte
Travis Jackson
406-498-3125
Benchmark Human Services-Peace Place
Children with special healthcare needs
Cascade County, Great Falls
Amy Clure
406-781-9242
Alliance for Youth
Foster families & Parents in recovery
Cascade County, Great Falls
Isis Olsen
Early Childhood Coalition of Beaverhead County
Postpartum Mental Health
Beaverhead County, Dillon
Amber Lacey
720-352-9855
Task Force
The Family Peer Support Task Force and Steering Committee wrapped up with a final in-person meeting in September 2023 in Helena. The FPS Task Force met all goals and created for the profession of Family Peer Support in MT: Scope of Practice, Code of Ethics, Core Competencies, Training Standards, and Certification Requirements. A Family Peer Support Toolkit containing this work is in development. We are proud of the accomplishments and thankful to the members who dedicated their time.
But the work continues! MPN’s Family Action Committee is currently working towards certification and funding for Family Peer Support. If you are interested in being part of this important work for families, apply here.
Family Forum Blog
Technology and Mental Health
You have probably heard that computers, phones, social media, and other apps are bad for your mental health. That can definitely be an issue as many things in our lives can affect our mental health. In general, too much of just about anything can be problematic. There are various ways in which technology can adversely affect us but there are great things that technology can do for us.
Mental Health: The Most Important Conversation
Mental Health Awareness month, what a beautiful way to bring awareness to a very important topic. Growing up I considered mental health to be very extreme mental health disorders. For example, depression/suicide, substance abuse/addiction, or diagnosis/personality disorders. Also, feeling statements that were commonly heard and used were simply happy, mad, and sad. Mental health is so much more complex than the ones I listed. I now believe those are the extremes, because mental health hasn’t/hadn’t ever been addressed. Navigating something within ourselves, without the knowledge and words, leads to a recipe for disaster.
A Journey to Wellness
I recently learned about the 8 Dimensions of Wellness. Before I dive into these, I first want to define what “wellness” means. Wellness is the “act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health outcomes.1” For many people, wellness is associated with physical health, but not necessarily with mental health. I know that was true for me for much of my life. By taking stock of different areas of my life and consciously making a plan for how to improve these various aspects, I can increase my quality of life. I am just starting this journey myself and have a ways to go, but I believe with guidance from these dimensions, I can make some improvements in myself.
Parental Mental Health
Parents and children may be dealing with Behavioral Health Issues, Mental Health, and Special Healthcare Needs and we have a lot of plates spinning in the air at once. How do we cope with our children’s mental health? Some of our children have ADD, ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, PTSD, Panic Disorders or Bipolar disorder. There are so many diagnoses that I won’t name them all. People can’t physically see mental health issues, so they are often not talked about.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month!
Check out stickers and other resources for Mental Health Awareness Month and Children’s Mental Health Acceptance Week!
Children’s Mental Health Acceptance Week: May 7-13, 2023
Before we can accept that mental health is important and affects our kids, we have to acknowledge it, talk about it, and address the issues surrounding it. We have to fight against the stigma. We have to recognize mental illness as the physical illness it is and not a character defeat.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness should be a journey, not a destination. What I mean by that is, whether we need to forgive ourselves, friends/family, or people who have wronged us in our life, that can be very difficult task. That physical pain we felt, the emotional toll we went through, and the way our bodies grasped those feelings and held onto to them tight, it can feel like something you will truly never get over. The old saying goes, “Time heals everything.” Well, it sure doesn’t.
Forgiving Ourselves
Go to your local bookstore or search on Amazon and you will find books to teach you just about anything. There are even books about parenting. The difference between a book about cooking and a book about parenting is that cooking is, for the most part, predictable and routine. If you have the skills and follow the recipe, you will most likely get good results.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is something that can be described in so many ways by everyone. I describe forgiveness as the power to move on, heal, recover and to have inner peace and grace in life. It takes courage, mental strength, bravery, humility, and compassion. For some of us it also takes emotional and spiritual awareness to forgive.
Forgiving Myself
I was ill-prepared for taking care of a child with behavioral health challenges. I didn’t understand mental illness and neurodiversity. I hadn’t heard of trauma-informed care. I had little tools in my parenting toolbox. I parented a lot of the time from a place of fear, control, embarrassment, fatigue, and ignorance. I also parented out of a deep and all-consuming love.