Family support and leadership project - nami missouri's 3-year statewide family network project, "family support and leadership project," will benefit parents and caregivers of children and youth with…

Family support and leadership project - nami missouri's 3-year statewide family network project, "family support and leadership project," will benefit parents and caregivers of children and youth with serious emotional disturbance (SED) and/or CO-occurring disorders (COD) in missouri using a combination of proven, peer-led training developed by nami and partner organizations, including nami basics, smarts, partners in policy, holding hope, charting the life course and wrap. The project will focus on parents and primary caregivers of youth with SED/COD ("parents/ caregivers") from 3 specific populations of focus: 1.) military and veteran families; 2.) families in rural, underserved, and under-resourced parts of the state; 3.) families living in poverty. Project goals include: strengthening the leadership of parents/caregivers; teaching parents/caregivers how to get involved in policy; helping parents/caregivers access evidence-based and promising practices; improving understanding, skills, and abilities of family support providers (FSPS) and agencies; promoting tools to boost connections between families; and strengthening the statewide family/caregiver network across the state long term. Measurable objectives include the following annual goals: holdin a partners in policy leadership training to train 10 parents/ caregivers; holding a community advocacy training on board and committee service for 10 parents/ caregivers; supporting a training program to develop 5 new FSPS; hosting 3 provider seminars and training 75 mental health providers; providing ceus to 30 FSPS; increasing the favorability rating of mental health professional attitudes toward peer support; graduating 12 parents/ caregivers from basics courses; earning a rating of "helpful" or "extremely helpful" in providing knowledge and support from 90% of parents/ caregivers who attend a basics course; providing respites service for 10 parents/ caregivers; coordinating FSP mentors to provide in-person advocacy for 10 individuals; reaching 5,000 missourians through messaging; attending 3 conferences as attendees/ participants; and 3 partner organization conferences as vendors, reaching 3,000 people; attending workgroups/ work session meetings with 5 separate partner organizations who represent populations with goals that align with ours. Strategies and interventions include facilitating access to education; promoting skill-building, family peer support, and trauma-informed care; offering access to respite care, encouraging collaboration with mental health professionals, providing access to crisis intervention services and advocacy support, ensuring cultural competence, and implementing a combination of interventions tailored to each family to maximize effectiveness and ensure a holistic approach. Other plans include training 5 parents/caregivers to tell their lived experience stories through the holding hope program, delivering 20 presentations per year, reaching 350 people. We will serve 125 parents/ caregivers through our parent helpline and email; 15 parents/caregivers through parent support groups; and 25 parents/ caregivers annually through cmhw outreach. Through these activities we will serve an estimated 850 people annually, and 2,550 throughout the life of the grant. In addition, we will reach more than 8,000 people annually, and 24,000 throughout the life of the grant.