Creation of Havre Circle of Parents Family Group underway

Staff and wire

A local family support specialist said in a release she is in the process of creating a support group of families with children who have issues including developmental disabilities, neurodivergencies, mental health issues and suffering child abuse, and an open house about Circle of Parents Family Group is set for Monday at Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line starting at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Benchmark Human Services Family Support Specialist Amanda Christofferson said the meet-and-greet will let people meet the facilitators and learn about being a parent leader or person “who might be interested in joining this group of exceptional families caring for exceptional children.”

She said child care and dinner will be provided at the open house.

“I am excited to meet you all, share a bit of my journey and why I feel this group is so important to our community,” Christofferson said in the release. “Let’s come together to share ideas, meet and lift each other up with encouragement and the real, raw, truth of being an exceptional caregiver to someone with neurodivergences or mental health battles.”

“This will be our group; it will be what we want it to be, topics, needs, name of the group, etc.,” Christofferson added. “We are in this together.”

She said it is a national program model and will be state-funded. People can learn more about the national model at the Circle of Parents website at http://circleofparents.org .

The website says the program’s vision is a world where all care givers have the knowledge, skills and support to raise strong, resilient and happy children.

“Circle of Parents® provides a friendly, supportive environment led by parents and other caregivers,” the website says. “It’s a place where anyone in a parenting role can openly discuss the successes and challenges of raising children. It’s a place where they can find and share support.”

The website says the model is to achieve the vision by sitting down and really talking. It says Circle of Parents groups meet weekly, are free of charge and foster an open exchange of ideas, support, information and resources.

These kinds of groups serve those parenting children of all ages and families of all types.  

Groups exist across the country, and they operate under different names and organizations, the website says, adding, they are all there to help parents find support.

The website says the Circle of Parents national network represents a partnership of parent leaders and 18 statewide and regional organizations. The organization was formed after a successful collaborative project of Prevent Child Abuse America and the National Family Support Roundtable, which was made possible by the Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Over the next few years, Circle of Parents intends to expand the national network, add new groups, strengthen existing programs and develop new family support initiatives, the website says.

For more information about the Circle of Parents program, people can visit its mission page at http://circleofparents.org/about/mission and can contact Julie Rivnak-McAdam at (804) 308-0841