Family Wellness News & Resources

Coming in the New Year!

Please save February 26, 2025, for a special parent/caregiver regional event! We will host an international speaker, author, and psychotherapist specializing in anxiety, along with a community resource fair. Watch for details!

Looking for healthy things to do with children over the vacation week and throughout December, check out Community Kangaroo. Created by Moms living in the west and southwest of Boston. Community Kangaroo allows you to search by town and region for listings of area events, sledding locations, light displays and more.

Community Kangaroo

The Family Wellness Resources Website has some ideas for hikes and other outdoor activities, and the local libraries have museum passes to help defray visits to Boston area museums and parks.

With the winter months approaching, the Executiv Office of Houssinig and Livable Communities have announced the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) enrollment period for the 2024-2025 winter season has bgun. HEAP is free, statewide resource to help eligible renters and homeowners with heating bills. HEAP pays a portion of bills directly to heating companis. Assistance period runs from Nov. 1, 2024- April 30, 2025. Apply online or through local administering agencies.

During the holiday break and throughout the year, there are resources to support you and your children. Reach out to a pediatrician or family physician's office for direction or referral. If you or your child is already connected to a mental health provider, checking in with them may be helpful. For life-threatening emergencies, call 911.

Helplines provide support whenever someone is in distress:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 988

• Disaster Distress Helpline: Call (800) 985-5990, Text TalkWithUs to 66746
• Chat with Lifeline Crisis Textline: Text TALK to 741741
• Trevor Project Lifeline: (866) 488-7386 (crisis support for LGBTQ youth)
• Mass Behavioral Health Helpline (24/7) 833-773-2445 (help available in 200 languages)

Community Behavioral Health Center, 190 Lenox St., Norwood

If you need to be seen right away, you can go to the CBHC for treatment assessment. Covered for all, with or without insurance.

Riverside Mobile Crisis Intervention (24/7 crisis intervention)

781-769-8674 or 800 529-5077

Youth and Adult Mobile Crisis Intervention provider for this area. The Youth Mobile Crisis Team provides crisis intervention to children (20 and under) experiencing a behavioral health crisis with a mobile, face-to-face response. The team can meet with youth and their families at community-based locations or travel to homes, schools, and other locations to avoid hospital emergency room visits. The Adult Mobile Crisis Intervention (ACMI) staff includes clinicians and peer support specialists.

Mobile Crisis Flyer in Portuguese Uma linha que salva em tempo de crise

Mobile Crisis Flyer in Spanish Un salvavidas en situaciones de crisis

Parent/Caregiver Supports

Parents Helping Parents Parental Stress Hotline 1-800-632-8188 24/7 Confidential & Anonymous

Parents Helping Parents website - resources and information on support groups for parents/caregivers with varying needs.

Parent/Professional League Support Groups. PPAL provides support for caregivers raising a child with behavioral or mental health challenges through several services and groups.

Information: https://ppal.net/support-groups/ , or email parentsupportgroup@ppal.net.

The districts continue to partner with Care Solace to assist families in accessing mental health or substance use provders in the community. This care match service is free and confidential. Families may call direct to (888)515-0595, or use QR code for your school district on flyer below. Please note that after you conplete the initial screening form, Care Companions will contact you from the same number during the care coordination process.

What to Expect

Mass Partnerships for Youth is sponsoring a free Parenting Solutions Library through its partnership with Peace At Home Parenting Solutions. Peace At Home specializes in empowering parents with evidence-based strategies to foster nurturing connections that safeguard their children's mental well-being. Presented by advanced degreed experts, the trainings focuses on child and adolescent development and provides easy-to-use strategies for long-lasting change. See the flyer for examples of topics.
The Parenting Solutions Library may easily be accessed using the link on MPY’s home page mpyinc.org.

Please visit the Family Wellness Website for resources related to nutrition, food access, basic needs assistance, mental health, counseling support, referral resources and other wellness topics. There are ongoing updates and additions to the site to support families from all four districts.

Family Wellness Resources

Dot Pearl

Regional Director of Wellness

Email: pearld@kingphilip.org or dpearl@norfolk.k12.ma.us

dpearl@plainville.k12.ma.us pearld@wrenthamschools.org

Website: Family Wellness Resources
Location: 18 King Street, Norfolk, MA, USA
Phone: 508 520-7991, ext. 2312