This week was the opening of the trial that is a result of the lawsuit the U.S. Department of Justice filed in 2016 against the state of Mississippi for violating Olmstead.

Families as Allies will have staff members attending the trial, and we will be posting updates as well as providing links to news stories over the duration of the trial, which is expected to last 6 weeks. 

Then come to our next training on Thursday, June 27th, from 9 am to 3 pm. It's for parents and parent peer support specialists who are interested in being Parent/Caregiver Leaders to serve on decision-making groups and committees. This 6-hour training was developed by Family Voices National Center for Family Professional Partnerships. If you are interested in this training register now as space is limited.

We appreciate the National Alliance on Mental Illness Mississippi (NAMI MS) inviting us to be part of an advocacy panel during its annual conference last Friday, May 17.  (shown at right: Joy Hogge, Families as Allies; Ta'Shia Gordon, Mississippi Attorney General's office; and Zakiya Summers, ACLU of Mississippi)

Our advocacy update included these areas:

1. Support for families of young children –We continue to expand our work in this area and asked audience members to help us connect with families of young children who might benefit from this support or be willing to give us feedback about what would be most helpful to them.

2. Parent to parent peer support – We shared that in addition to creating the curriculum for and training the trainers of parent peer support in the mental health system, we are developing continuing education and ongoing coaching for parent peer support specialists and also expanding this work to other child serving systems. We also are committed to supporting the young people who are developing youth peer support.  All of this work is based on a foundation of ensuring the system of care in Mississippi is family-driven.

Check out the April issue of The Ally newsletter to learn all that's been going on in 2019 and catch up with the latest news. This issue has info about Families as Allies participating with Molina Health care at a community baby shower, our partnering with the Department of Mental Health on their System of Care Project, news on our recent certified peer support training, and a recent honor for Families as Allies executive director Joy Hogge from the Mississippi Business Journal. And some news about family partner Coreaner Price and the Mississippi Wraparound Institute. You can read the April 2019 issue of the newsletter here.

Please join with us in celebrating the New Year Thursday, January 17th, at our 5th annual Open House. We'll be looking for you from 4:30-7 PM. Come by and tell us what your hopes are for children and families this year, and tell us what you think we should be doing this year.

And of course we'll have activities for children and teens. Catering is by Johnny T's Bistro. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

WHERE:  840 East River Place
Suite 500, Jackson, MS 39202

For more information: 601-355-0915

If you would like to read more about what we've been up to, here's a link to our latest newsletter.

Families as Allies joins the nation in honoring the life of President George Herbert Walker Bush. 

President Bush’s signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990 is likely the single most important presidential action ever taken to support people with disabilities. It reflected what he knew: people with disabilities can live, work and thrive in their communities with the right kinds of support. He did not pity people with disabilities.  In fact, he worked side by side with them to pass the ADA.

Today is #Giving Tuesday. I hope that Monica's story and her experience with Families as Allies inspires you to give generously so that families across the state can support each other and work together on behalf of our children.

  
(Pictured above, from top left, clockwise): Congressman Gregg Harper with Howard Roffwarg and Joy Hogge, Henry Moore and Joy Hogge with representatives from the Community Students Learning Center, Ramona Russum and Joy Hogge with John Lunardini and Sue Allen of Catholic Charities, and Tara Manning and Joy Hogge with representatives from the Coalition For Citizens With Disabilities)

On Monday, November 5th we held our fifth annual Community Partnership Celebration at Bravo! Italian Restaurant. This event is our major (not only) fundraiser of the year. Please take a few minutes to listen to Monica Webber describe how her involvement with Families as Allies has made a difference in the lives of her child, her family and other families they have come to know.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and First Lady Ebony Lumumba, recipients of last year's Helen Reddy Johnson Memorial Award for Valuing Every Child and Family, with Executive Director Joy Hogge, members of the Johnson family and others.

Families as Allies has touched the lives of many children and families over the past year because of your generous support. Join us at Bravo Italian Restaurant and Bar on Monday, November 5, 2018 from 5:00 to 7:30 for our Fifth Annual Community Partnership Celebration to honor this good work and make sure that it continues. For more information on tickets or if you would like to become a sponsor, CLICK HERE.

Mississippi Today recently published this sobering article by health reporter Larrison Campbell detailing stories of young children with disabilities failing to receive federally mandated early intervention services through the First Steps Program at Mississippi State Department of Health due to budget and personnel constraints.

We know these families' stories are very real because some of these very real families have contacted our organization.