Services

ASK provides the following services:

Free parent support groups (Events Schedule)
Free individual support to Kalamazoo County residents
Referrals to community services and agencies
Clearinghouse for information about disorders, education law, mental health rights, services, etc.
Newsletter (published quarterly)
Lending library
Parent/community trainings
Parent and youth advisory committees

Many of our staff members have first-hand experience raising children with mood, behavior and emotional disorders.

What to Expect When You Call

At ASK, we believe that every family who calls is doing the best they can. We accept all people as they are, and we try to help in several ways - by providing hope, listening and supporting, assessing the unique needs of each family, and helping families get their goals met.

If you call, we may provide you with the name of a mentor, give you a great website address, refer you to a community service, invite you to our support groups, tell you about a training, send you a newsletter, or all of the above, depending on what you need.

Sometimes all you need is someone to listen, and we do that too. Having a sounding board when you have had a particularly rough day can be a life saver. Many of our staff and their children have experienced what you and your family are experiencing. Knowing that you are not alone is very powerful.

Raising kids can be tough. If you need help, just ASK!

ASK's Family Support Partner Model

What is a Family Support Partner (FSP)?

A Family Support Partner is a parent or caregiver of a child with mood, behavioral, or emotional challenges. They faced and overcame many barriers while trying to access services for their children. As a result, Family Support Partners are in a position to assist parents with similar situations in navigating the system of care for their children. They provide support based on firsthand experience. ASK's Family Support Partners are currently accessible to families via several community agencies including Kalamazoo Community Mental Health, Goodwill Industries, Portage Community Education Center, and the 9th Judicial Circuit Court.

What do Family Support Partners Do?

Family Support Partners empower families raising children with mood, behavioral, or emotional challenges by providing parents/caregivers with support, training and advocacy skills. Family Support Partners assist with a listening ear, understanding, and the unique perspective of experience. Parents are not alone in their struggles, and sometimes knowing this can help more than they realize.

Family Support Partners assist families with locating or obtaining needed community resources. They assist in finding or arranging various types of training, seminars, conferences, support groups or discussions to help increase knowledge in critical areas such as Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), Section 504 plans, evaluations, specific disabilities, parenting strategies, local resources, etc.

Family Support Partners also help establish goals for families, plan and prepare for school meetings or person-centered-planning meetings, court hearings, etc., and are able to attend meetings with families for support, if needed.

Why do Family Support Partners do what they do?

ASK's vision is that parents will be respected and valued as competent advocates in the care of their children. We hope to achieve that by providing families/caregivers with the knowledge and confidence to plan and advocate for their child. We believe parents are their child's best advocate, and they know their child better than anyone else does. It is our goal to provide families the tools necessary to advocate for their child's needs, have their own supports and resources within the community, and eventually to assist other families in the community by providing a voice for making positive changes to our mental health system of care.