I have several children. Two of the children that I adopted were very broken when they came to me. I knew how to love them but I did not know how to help them with all the emotional and physical problems that they were having. I was really flying by the seat of my pants until I found out about the help I could receive from NLCMH.

When Mary Hubbard asked me if I would like to speak as a parent representative at the County Commissioners’ meeting, concerning Children’s System of Care, I felt honored. I feel with all my heart that the System of Care will help so many families on such a new level. Families will no longer feel they need to defend their child’s behavior but be empowered by such a huge network of help right at their fingertips. They will have the help of so many other parents and members of the community to enable them to cope with the daily rigors of raising a child with a severe emotional disability. I wanted the Commissioners to understand how important this program is, but I also wanted to let them know how much NLCMH and the people that work there have changed my children’s lives for the better. I wanted them to understand how dedicated NLCMH already is to improving lives.

My daughter works with Maria Kaniszewski (Home Based Therapist), and my daughter said to me that because Maria and I keep working with her and keep trying new things with her to help her, she feels loved. Maria taught her to rub her hands together whenever she felt like peeling her skin. Now my daughter’s face, arms and legs are healed and she looks as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude at all the times Christine Lee (Case Manager) and Maria have come to my home at all hours of the day and evening to help me with a crisis with one of the children during one of their meltdowns. They helped everyone in the household, including the teens, and made us all better able to cope and gave us lifelong skills to handle crisis situations. I feel with System of Care, families get this help even faster and work as an active participant and partner in their child’s care.

I do not believe there can be anything more empowering than that.