For Betty Daniels, parent peer support begins with lived experience. A mother of four who also raised her oldest granddaughter, Daniels knows what it is like to have a child with behavioral health challenges and not know where to turn for help. Today, she draws on those experiences to support other parents as they work through many of the same systems and challenges she once faced herself.
Daniels first found Families as Allies after moving from Virginia to Mississippi. Her child was being removed from school and getting into trouble, and Daniels said the demands of trying to address those problems were also affecting her ability to keep a job. She searched online for help because she did not understand how to navigate the school system or get what her child needed. Before finding Families as Allies, she described the experience simply: “Horrible. Horrible. Heartbreaking.” She remembers repeatedly running into roadblocks, not knowing who to talk to, what questions to ask or which services might help.
Families as Allies helped Daniels learn a different way to approach those challenges. She said the organization helped her understand how to navigate systems, communicate more effectively and advocate for her child without allowing frustration to take over. The results mattered for both of them: she was better able to maintain employment, while her son stayed in school, graduated, went on to college and got his first job while attending college.
As Daniels became more successful in advocating for her own child, other parents began asking her how she had done it. They wanted to know how she had handled particular situations and whether she could help them with problems involving their own children. “It made me feel more empowered, not only to help my own child, but to help somebody else’s child,” Daniels said. That experience helped lead her toward parent peer support, where lived experience becomes a resource that can be shared with another family.
Daniels describes parent peer support as helping parents learn to take the “driver’s seat” while navigating systems for their children. That does not mean having all the answers. In fact, one of the lessons she emphasizes is knowing when to ask questions and when to seek help from someone who has already been through a similar experience. She also learned that supporting other families requires taking care of herself. Daniels said she makes time to meditate, read, travel and spend time near water, while also connecting with other parents and women who help her recharge and think through her next steps.
Her advice to anyone considering becoming a parent peer supporter is straightforward: “I would tell them to go for it.” She encourages new supporters to listen before speaking, gather as much useful information as possible and take things one step at a time. Most of all, she cautions parents against believing they have to handle everything on their own. “We all need someone. We all need some help,” Daniels said. For her, that understanding is at the heart of parent peer support: using what one family has learned to help another family find its own way forward.
