Hosted by the National Family Support Technical Assistance Center, “Family Connections” is a virtual community for parents and caregivers who support loved ones facing substance use and/or mental health challenges.

Families tell us they need credible resources, guidance on accessing help, and the opportunity to connect with others facing similar challenges. Monthly gatherings focus on a specific topic, provide tips and tools, and offer the opportunity to network with other families. Family Connections takes place the first Thursday of every month at 1:30 p.m. ET*. (*1:30pm ET/12:30pm CT/10:30am PT.)

On May 4th, Family Connections takes on “Navigating Family Support.”

The past few years have taken a toll on the mental health of many across the country, especially youth. In February of this year, the Center for Disease Control released new data showing that “mental health among students overall continues to worsen, with more than 40% of high school students feeling so sad or hopeless that they could not engage in their regular activities for at least two weeks during the previous year.“

We believe parents and caregivers are the subject matter experts when it comes to their own child. But being a subject matter expert also means we need to stay on top of new ideas, skills, and tools. There’s so much available online that it can be hard to discern what’s reliable and what’s not. We’ll introduce you to a new online resource created by leading mental health experts with evidence-based content — giving parents/guardians the knowledge and tools to support youth while strengthening their own mental health.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will learn how to find and access vetted, evidence-based resources on mental health and tools to support their families.
2. Participants will learn to couple their lived experience with education and knowledge as their children who experience/experienced mental health challenges enters different stages of development.
3. Acceptance Factor: By accessing reliable information, knowledge, and skills, parents and caregivers are better able to support, advocate, and act for their child at every stage of development.

Register here >>

This event is free and open to all families, parents, caregivers, and to the family workforce, organizations and communities that support them. You can also request No-Cost Technical Assistance or Training from NFSTAC at: www.nfstac.org/request-ta.

The National Family Support Technical Assistance Center of Excellence (COE) Grant #1H79F6000160-Fam-CoE is funded by SAMHSA. The National Family Support Technical Assistance Center is led by the National Federation of Families.