Passages Family Support is a peer support mental health organization that strives to form healthy partnerships with families, youth, and children in Spokane County by providing support services, coordination of care, classes, and advocacy. All are welcome at Passages.
Passages serves families who have a child receiving services in the Spokane County public mental health system. Our programs empower parents of children with emotional, behavioral or mental disorders to navigate systems of care in a way that allows them to raise their children with dignity and joy. Passages strives to:
- ensure that families have adequate information to access all the services provided by current private and public mental-health systems
- help families understand current issues and changes in mental-healthcare systems that directly impact them
- provide families with training, resources and supportive systems to enable them to maximize positive outcomes for their children or youth
- inform and educate families, educators, researchers, mental health providers and state and national policymakers about mental-health issues related to children and youth
With support from Spokane County Regional Support Network (RSN), Passages’ strength-based, family-centered support, education and advocacy services include:
- Advocacy: Passages encourages the parents of children with neurobiological disorders to become active in advocating for their own children and all children who suffer from these disabilities. Members of our group are advocates at the local, state and national levels.
- Certified Peer Counselors & In-Home Counseling: certified peer counselors offer one-on-one support, education, and advocacy for parents and children, assisting families in learning to advocate for their children in schools and social-service systems. Additionally, certified peer counselors help families identify goals that promote resiliency and assist them in identifying services and activities to help them reach these goals.
- Emergency Financial Support: As resources allow, Passages provides financial help to eligible families to cover emergencies such as utility or phone shut-off or eviction from a rental property. We also provide food, clothing and school supplies to children who are enrolled in the Spokane County public mental-health system.
- Monthly Support Group: parents meet together for a support group facilitated by Passages staff.
- Parent Empowerment Classes: a ten-week series of psycho-educational workshops for caregivers. Course topics include:
— brain biology
— early-onset schizophrenia
— early-onset bipolar disorder
— anxiety disorders
— ADHD
— mental illness as a family crisis
— coping, self-care, recovery and transition
— IDEA legislation and the juvenile justice system
— communication and problem-solving skills
- Support Group: this drop-in group meets at Passages the first Tuesday of each month (10am-12pm) to discuss family issues, share resources, problem solve and complete group exercises.
- Tools for Parenting Class: a ten-week series of parenting courses.
- Wraparound Teams: For families whose children are involved in multiple systems, wraparound is an efficient method of organizing services. Passages staff members are trained in wraparound facilitation based on the method endorsed by the National Wraparound Initiative.
Passages is a chapter of the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health and NAMI Child and Adolescent Network.
All Passages programs are free of charge to primary caregivers.
Learn more about this program
Location: 525 W Second Ave, lower level
Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Phone: 509.892.9241
Fax: 509.892.9251