Tips for Developing Sustainable Family-Run Organizations

Regardless of who they are or when and where a group of families decides to organize, they will be building an engine for system change. This task is both demanding and rewarding. It is, first and foremost, a developmental process that takes time, skills, and resources. The fuel for this new engine will be the passion generated by the experiences of many different families as they rise to the challenge of raising a child who has mental health needs. Ten years of experience with working to build family-run organizations within systems of care indicates there are some fundamental tasks that must be accomplished for family-run organization development and sustainability. These tasks appear to apply to all kinds of family groups regardless of the cultural grounding, race, ethnicity, or demographics of individual organizations or their communities. Family-run organizations from all over the country, their leaders, members, and system of care partners all contributed to the TIPS presented here.