NEW HAMPSHIRE
Familystrength helps at-risk children in the Keene area
Bill Cleary has held various positions during his legal career in Keene — county attorney, private-practice lawyer, state prosecutor. Whatever his role, he’s often been involved in court cases concerning at-risk children and teens.
“When you have a kid in the legal system, every case is unique,” he said. “Attorneys present their different sides of a case. The judge tries to sift through it all to come to a decision. Then, in from the side comes Familystrength. It’s one of our go-to resources.”
For the past 23 years, Familystrength has provided mental health services to children and families with severe behavioral challenges. A statewide organization, the group maintains a divisional office in Keene that serves the Monadnock Region. The majority of clients are referred by the N.H. Division for Child, Youth and Families and the Division of Juvenile Justice. Currently the nonprofit assists more than 100 Monadnock Region families. Most cases involve abused or neglected children as well as those in need of supervision.
“Our clients are not all low-income, dysfunctional families by any means,” said Meg Zanger, regional director in Keene. “All families have times when they have issues. There isn’t a person or a family that at one time or another doesn’t need support in hard times. We see it as a sign of strength rather than weakness to get that support. It helps you resolve problems in a long lasting way.”
Staff members are trained licensed family therapists. Thirteen hold Master’s degrees. Among them is a clinician certified in advanced trauma treatment; another works with formerly abused children who are now offenders.
The organization’s goal is to keep families intact. To that end, counselors go directly into clients’ homes to provide individual and family therapy, generally twice a week for 90 days. “There’s an advantage to working with families in their own home,” Zange said. “We consider it an honor to be invited. We meet them in their natural environment and can see and feel the obstacles to change. We’re on an equal playing field. We do talk therapy, play therapy. We use whatever will work,” she said. “We break bread with them. We help people clean up their living quarters. It’s more than just sitting at a table talking. It’s hands-on.”
Besides discovering root causes to problems, counselors help families form concrete plans for lasting behavior changes. For a child constantly truant from school, that might mean new rules. In the case of a youngster struggling with obesity, family nutritional education may be in order. “One of the things we’re best at is instilling hope,” Zanger said. “Families try, really try to make things work. Often they feel there’s no way out. Most of the time, we’re successful in helping families gain a sense of control and hope for the future. When we have hope, we can do lots of things.”
Services are available to clients 24 hours per day, seven days per week for crisis intervention or general support. The group also accompanies clients to court, advocates with schools, and provides referrals to local agencies for day care, housing, food stamps and the like. Beyond that, the organization offers services to families with an adult or child returning home from hospitalized psychiatric care to insure a successful transition to family and to community resources.
“We’ve helped hundreds of families stay together and live happy connected lives,” Zanger said. “And the skills they’ve learned working with us have been passed on to their child and their children’s children. Over time, it becomes multi-generational success.”
Lawyer Cleary agrees. “They don’t work with the prosecutor, the parents or the judge,” he said. “They’re on nobody’s side. In cases with children and teens, there’s a steady request for their services, and we often see things work out. They’re in the business of helping families in the system. They do a lot of good.”
Joan Geary
30 November 2008
