New Norristown Center Convenes Services for Families and Youth With Behavioral Health Disorders Under One Roof
Posted on: Wednesday, 5 July 2006, 12:00 CDT
PHILADELPHIA, July 5 /PRNewswire/ -- A brand-new behavioral health center providing integrated advocacy and peer-support services for Montgomery County youth and families struggling with mental illnesses and/or substance abuse disorders opened on June 27, 2006. The Youth and Family Advocacy Center (YAFAC) of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania (MHASP) brings together advocates and peer support specialists at 601 DeKalb Street, Suite 3, Norristown, Pa.
Such a program is vital in order to bridge the gaps among the major child-serving systems: behavioral health, child welfare, juvenile justice, education and managed care. "Although the child-serving systems are constantly striving to bridge those gaps, advocates are often the only supporters who will assist families regardless of which -- or how many -- systems they are involved with," said Joseph Rogers, MHASP president and CEO.
Catherine Panzarella, director of MHASP's Child, Adolescent and Family Division, added, "Families really value having someone who will assist with the whole picture and not say, 'That is not my job.'"
Many of the advocates have firsthand experience dealing with the child-serving systems. "Families often feel a peer can understand their frustrations better than other professionals and help them to generate solutions that are truly effective for their own family," Panzarella said.
The Center is home to the Parents Involved Network, a peer-support program serving families of children with serious emotional disorders, and the Family Satisfaction Team of Montgomery County, which facilitates communication between families and the behavioral health system about effective services. In September, MHASP's PEAK (Parent Empowerment for Advocacy Through Knowledge) program, an award-winning education and advocacy training program for caregivers, will be piloted for Montgomery County residents. Plans include incorporating other MHASP family and youth services in the Center.
The services provided by YAFAC will be "consumer-driven," said program manager Francesca Vassalluzzo. "The Center will promote the involvement of youth and families in all aspects of service system design, evaluation, and governance," she said.
Rogers thanked Eric Goldstein, Montgomery County administrator for mental health, mental retardation, drug and alcohol and behavioral health, "for his incredible support of peer services for families. Our collaboration with Montgomery County administrators in working toward resiliency and recovery has been very rewarding."
To contact the Center, call 610-279-8511.
Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania
CONTACT: Francesca Vassalluzzo, Program Manager, YAFAC, +1-610-279-8511,ext. 104, cell: +1-215-913-1205
Web site: http://www.mhasp.org/
Source: PRNewswire
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