The Family Project: Recovery- Informed Parenting Initiative for Parents with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness

The Family Project offers custodial and non custodial parents recovering from mental illness receiving care through the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health a variety of supports and services. The Family Project is an integral part of the Clubhouse where, through advocacy, the family generalist staff work with parents to rebuild relationships with their children, and empower them to re-establish identity as parents. Some of the parents involved with the Family Project have lost contact with their children as a result of their illness, and require legal consultation. The Family Project works closely with the Clubhouse Family Legal Project, another Family Initiative, to support parents fully in the achievement of their goals:

Parenting Recovery Supports and Skill Building – Staff and peers help parents increase their understanding of their children, improve their parenting skills, and build skills and resource to support their recovery.
Visitation Support – Staff work with parents who do not have custody of their children to plan visits that will be developmentally appropriate, interactive and pleasurable for parents and their children. Staff also provide supervised visitation and transportation to these visits.
Parent Peer Support Group – Parents meet regularly to discuss the challenges of attending to their own well-being and recovery. Peer leaders and group members provide validation, reduce isolation, and a feeling of hope.
Liaison with Clubhouse Family Legal Project – Clubhouse staff facilitate contact and communication between parents and attorneys, in support of the parent’s journey to gain visitation and custodial care.
Liaison with Community – Staff and parents work together to facilitate a better understanding among a parent’s community including: schools, housing, public safety, child welfare, and religious/community groups.

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