Georgia's family and youth driven statewide family network - georgia parent support network, INC

Is applying for samhsa's statewide family network funding as georgia's family and youth driven SFN. Gpsn is proposing to strengthen organizational relationships, improve collaborations, and develop closer relationships with child-serving advocacy organizations to enable families as they strive toward independence, foster leadership skills, and continue assessing the technical assistance needs of family-controlled organizations, as well as increasing youth involvement in every facet of the organization's operation. As a result of these improved collaborations, gpsn will strengthen organizational capacity to actively promote community-level parent participation in local and state mental health service planning and healthcare reform activities. Gpsn is a grassroots family-run nonprofit organization established in 1987 and is committed to empowering families who have children and youth who have SED. Gpsn currently administers seven programs including: therapeutic foster care and respite, certification for certified peer specialist parents and youth, transitional youth peer center, certified peer specialist-parents placed in emergency rooms, street outreach program for homeless youth, federation of families chapters and youth move chapters. The implementation plan for this program builds and extends upon work that is currently underway. Gpsn supports many families each year at trainings and conferences. Additional support is provided in terms of extended childcare, transportation and family support to increase attendance at all trainings and conferences. Gpsn is the state organization of the federation of families for children's mental health. After many years of work, georgia currently has 35 federation chapters and youth move chapters statewide. The goal is to expand these to cover the entire state. This program will support a more formalized structure with lead groups in each of the six regions which will further the development of chapters. Gpsn has a website which includes information on samhsa. Gpsn publishes and distributes a monthly newsletter to over 4,800 people, maintains a statewide toll-free telephone number, and provides leadership for parents and youth statewide. Gpsn receives approximately 75 calls per week for support, advocacy, education, and information. This program will assist in maintaining and expanding this capacity. Gpsn is aware of service gaps in georgia's behavioral health service systems. This program will enable gpsn to use the enhanced infrastructure to further support and educate families, and expand the family voice of lived experience through direct peer support.