The mission of the Child and Family Support Committee is to support families of children and adults with a variety of special needs. Our mission statement is to “Reach out and welcome all: experiencing differences as opportunity.” We have a commitment of attending to issues of special needs and mental and behavioral health as they manifest themselves in our community.

We work against stigma, and advocate for inclusion of those with special needs within our community as well as those in the larger community. We provide resource materials and a curriculum for increasing understanding of persons with mental health or learning challenges. We also provide mental health focused input into worship services.

We provide direct services to families with children with special needs and maintain a Resource Guide of services within Follen and the greater community (listed below).  In addition we arrange speakers on relevant topics. We also fund-raise to support the Minister’s Discretionary fund for Special Needs. The proceeds of this fund are used by the minister anonymously to assist families with costs of neuropsychological testing, tutoring, advocacy, respite and other expenses.

Resources at Follen and in the Community updated January 2020

If you have any questions or concerns or if you have suggestions for how Follen might be more supportive, contact Sharon Cerny.