An open letter to Napa County Parents. . .

ParentsCAN is the realization of a dream that began 26 years ago when my daughter KT was born with significant multiple disabilities.  If you are a parent of a child with special needs, maybe you recognize yourself in my story ...

I was living in Montana, and while there were excellent medical and social services available, there was no “parent-to-parent support” agency in our town. I never felt like I could talk to doctors and social workers about anything beyond legal and medical issues. It was hard to even talk to friends. I needed someone who could understand what I was going through, and who wouldn’t judge me for my thoughts of fear, and weakness.

Then I met another mother at a physical therapy appointment for KT. We were instant support for each other. Her son was almost a year old and had Cerebral Palsy. She too was lonely, hanging on, and walking it alone. We met for coffee and “play dates”, shared our thoughts, and many tears.

We started a small support group at a local church, and only met once a month, but we never missed. The meetings were like a lifeline—a place in our town for parents to come for comfort and information, where we could be honest, understood, and helped.

When I moved to Napa, I went to work for Matrix, a parent-to-parent organization headquartered in Marin County. There was no support agency in Napa. I asked the director of Matrix if I could work in my home community. She supported me and challenged me to find the resources to support a branch of Matrix in Napa. I did. Our Napa organization grew to meet 2,000 requests for assistance from over 400 families each year, but I had always dreamed of the day when we would have a Napa-based parent support organization for families whose children have disabilities.
Then that time finally arrived!

I am proud to say that Napa Parent-Child Advocacy Network (ParentsCAN), a Family Support and Resource Center and Network for all of Napa County, was founded in July 2005!

We are here for families whose children have disabilities of all types, as well as special health care needs. While we are proud of our accomplishments, there is always much to do. There are over 2,700 children with disabilities in Napa County, according to county statistics, and hundreds more with life-altering conditions who do not qualify as disabled under government guidelines, or are not identified.
We have a great staff team of family advocates, a strong board of directors, and a growing foundation of funding from individuals, organizations, and grants.

We are located at 3299 Claremont Way, Suite 3, in Napa and our phone number is 707-253-7444. Please come by or call and be a part of this exciting parent to parent support in Napa County.  We welcome the opportunity to meet and greet each family and community member as we realize together a dream come true right here in our neighborhoods!

Joan Lockhart
Executive Director

Language of Service

Ages of Children Served

Behavioral:
Mental Health:
Learning:
Suspected:
Developmental:
Health:

 

Share Your Story...

If you have had an experience in which you’ve received support from ParentsCAN, we would be honored to help you tell your story.  You can let others know how ParentsCAN helped to change the life of your child and family by telling your story in our newsletter and/or website.  We will either include your name or keep your identity anonymous, as you wish. 

Sharing your life experiences as a family who loves a child with special needs is so important -- to other families in similar situations, to our donors, and for your own family’s journey.

Please contact us at 253.7444 or parents@parentscan.org to get started in sharing your story.

Parent to Parent Works!
         
ParentsCAN serves families of children with an array of disabilities in Napa County.  Families can stop by our Napa Center to discuss their family’s needs, or call or email us to sign up for classes or to get assigned a “Parent Partner”.  ParentsCAN provides mobile support as well, working with our “partner Family Centers” in American Canyon, St. Helena, and
Calistoga, to assure that our Parent Partners are available to families where they live! 

ParentsCAN is specialized in two distinct ways from the other Family Resource Centers of Napa County. First, ParentsCAN serves families of children with special needs exclusively.  Most of our work is centered on families whose children struggle with learning disabilities such as ADD, ADHD, medical conditions such as diabetes or asthma, mental illness and emotional disturbance, and developmental or physical needs such as Autism or Cerebral Palsy. Our mission is assisting parents to first understand the disability or illness, and then become strong, informed, effective advocates for their family’s unique needs. 

The understanding, adjustment and learning period is often a lengthy and challenging journey for parents/caregivers. Families who are just learning about an illness or disability feel a great loss, and mourn the loss of  the things the child will not do, as well as the relationships that will be different than first expected for the child. Parents may feel guilt. There can be fear and misunderstanding in the work that families do with service providers.  Or perhaps they cannot find the right service or may not agree with the provider about the service type or duration.   Loss is the feeling best describing a parent’s experience.

Our second distinct difference is the ParentsCAN specialized parent-to-parent (peer-to-peer) model of service delivery.  ParentsCAN  “matches” the family with a Parent Partner (sometimes called an Advocate) who has been trained to walk beside (accompany) another family and be a valuable resource over the time of the child’s growth, development and transition to adulthood. Providing a listening ear, disability information and emotional support, at no charge, our staff is only a phone call or email away from those who need us.  Our training and support groups are all about learning from experience.  That is why “Parent-to-Parent” support is an international strategy that helps parents and families world over to adjust to and learn about disability issues and life transitions that our families must navigate.

Come in to ParentsCAN, use the library, meet other parents here, attend a training, or call us for an appointment with a Parent Partner anywhere in Napa County, who through their experience, can help you become a healthy and happy family again.

Parents Helping Parents...

Parents helping parents is a core strength of Parent-Child Advocacy Network.  We like to stress the word “network” in our name ... and our network often comes from other parents who have been there and can relate to both the joys and sorrows of parenting a child with a disability.

Sometimes a parent comes along who stands out because they use their life experiences to make a big difference in the lives of others.  Here’s a story ...

Nine honorees were celebrated at the 2009 Parent Leadership Awards ceremony and tea on February 26th at the Napa City County Library. 

ParentsCAN hosted this 4th annual event and was joined by Calistoga Family Center, Child Start Inc., St. Helena Family Center and United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay.  Each agency nominated one or more parents who have used their experience facing significant challenges in their own families to reach out, assist and support other parents and families in similar situations.  They have become role models from whom other can learn, draw strength, and find hope.  By sharing their experiences, resources and coping skills with others, these parent leaders let others know they are not alone.

Certificates of recognition were also given by Laurie Puzo, representative for State Assembly Member Noreen Evans.

The 2009 Napa County Parent Leaders are:

L to R front row: Rosa Alfaro, Ana Guzman L to R back row: Wenceslao & Guadalupe Fernandez, Mila DeWitt, Monty & Susie Reedy, Carol Hamilton, Amanda Haeckle

Rosa Alfaro	Amanda Haeckle (receiving certificate from Laurie Puzo)

Thank you to Umpqua Bank for their donation of refreshments and Frito Lay for their volunteer support!

If you are interested in reaching out to another family in a similar life situation, please let us know.  Maybe you’ll be the next parent leader in our community!