We celebrate two important annual milestones this month: PRIDE Month and Father's Day. To highlight the importance of culturally matched mental health care, a cornerstone of our work here at PS-WA, we present two interviews demonstrating its power. Kristin Tucker is a Queer parent working with LGBTQ+ community members in the perinatal period, and Nathan Friend, our Warm Line Dad Specialist, is a father who also runs the PS-WA Dad Support Group. In these interviews, they share their experiences, insights, and tips for those adjusting to parenthood outside of heteronormative motherhood spaces. | | |
Meet Kristin Tucker, Clinical Social Worker, UW Lecturer, and proud Queer parent
"LGBTQ people are immensely resilient, creative, and highly skilled at building loving, equitable, affirming relationships and chosen family systems. We have built our own families out of necessity, out of love, out of a shared vision for a liberated future. In the best of cases, we have shaken off the assumptions placed on us around our identities, our relationships, and our families, and we are able to create conditions that break generational cycles, heal our attachment wounds, and allow children to be safe, loved, wanted, and affirmed in their ever-evolving authentic selves."
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A Conversation with Nathan Friend, our Warm Line Dad Specialist
"I've heard that the most socially isolated demographic in America, after elders/seniors, is men between 25 and 45. That statistic absolutely rings true in my work. The dads I meet need other dads to talk to as a way to normalize their experiences and to combat the harmful effects of isolation. I always recommend finding a friend or relative you can talk to regularly, and/or find a support group where you can share your experience."
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Join Our Team!
Are you a perinatal mental health specialist excited to collaborate with trainers and community partners to create new and innovative PMH trainings? We are seeking a Training Development Manager to develop trainings and collaborate with instructors to assist professionals serving families in the perinatal period. This position supports strategies to increase access and quality of care in underserved communities by increasing awareness and knowledge amongst medical, mental health, social service, and community providers to support, screen, refer, and treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. This is a part-time contract position.
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Partner Spotlight: Westside Baby
WestSide Baby, in partnership with our shared community of people who champion young families, is committed to providing essential items to local babies in need, including diapers, clothing, and equipment. They have a bold vision for a day when every child is equipped with the basic needs they need to grow into healthy, happy, and resilient members of our community. Their operations are vast, distributing over $2.5 million dollars of baby items annually, including a staggering 2.7+ million diapers. Our Parent Resilience Program also gets diapers for clients through WestSide Baby! To learn more about this impactful organization, please visit: westsidebaby.org
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In Case You Missed It!
Our first Fireside Chat featured a deep dive into the Parent Support Warm Line with our Warm Line Program Manager, Victoria Cherniak, and Interim ED, Dr. Ayanna Gore. Check out the video to learn more about how the Warm Line operates to serve over 1,000 people per year.
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Parent Support Warm Line 1-888-404-7763
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With your support, we can shine a light on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and give families the care they need. Please support our lifesaving services. | | | | |
