Parent Education Series: Finding Resources to Support Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health

Education Sessions for Heart Parents

Session 2: Finding Resources to Support Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health

Thursday, February 25, 6:30 pm–7:15 pm

Have you enjoyed our CHN conferences in past years? As an alternative during COVID-19 times, we are running Zoom education sessions for heart parents.

Please join us for our second CHN parent education session on Thursday, February 25, at 6:30 pm, via Zoom. This will be a 30-minute live presentation followed by a 15-minute Q&A (through a chat bar and moderated by facilitator).

Please RSVP to Sam at saitken@childrensheartnetwork.org to receive the Zoom link. Click HERE to see the planned list of questions. If you would like to have additional questions answered, please add them to the list and our speakers will do their best to accommodate.

Topic

When a child faces physical health challenges, we know that mental health can often become part of the picture. While anxiety is most common, there can be other mental health concerns as well, and it can feel like a puzzle that needs to be sorted out. These challenges can have a big impact on the entire family, and it can be confusing and/or overwhelming for parents and caregivers to find people who understand and to find resources or supports that might help. With the added complication of a pandemic, there may be less space, time, or opportunity to engage in finding support for our kids or for ourselves. This makes it even harder to know where to start.

The Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre at BC Children’s Hospital and FamilySmart are collaborating to talk about these challenges and to help connect you with mental health peer support and resources.

Please feel free to email Sam at saitken@childrensheartnetwork.org with any questions.

Speakers

Bryn Askwith, MSc, is a project manager with the Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre at BC Children’s Hospital. She manages mental health promotion initiatives tailored to children, youth, and families. Through her work, she sees the positive impact that connecting families to support, services, and resources can have. She is co-host and lead producer of the Kelty Centre’s podcast for parents and caregivers, called Where You Are, and is a parent of two energetic kids that keep her curious and on the go.

Marlisse McRobie has been a parent-in-residence with FamilySmart for 11 years and has provided peer support, resources, and navigation to parents and caregivers whose children faced challenges with their mental health. She is now a support and development coordinator, training new parents-in-residence and providing personal and practice support to FamilySmart’s parent-in-residence and youth-in-residence team. Marlisse is the proud mother of a young man who faced significant mental health challenges throughout his earlier years. He is her greatest teacher.