Get advice from other parents who have experience dealing with situations like yours. Family Voices of Minnesota is a nonprofit organization that puts families with similar needs in touch with one another. It provides parent-to-parent matches with volunteers who have received special support training. Each match will look different.

For example, a match might support:

• A family receiving a new diagnosis and seeking information from a more experienced family.
• A family looking to meet another family whose child has similar needs.
• A family of a child scheduled to have surgery that wants to talk with another family that has experienced a similar situation.

Benefits of the Program

Parents and caregivers are great resources for finding answers to common questions.

Matched parents might have questions, such as:

• Can my child’s condition benefit from surgical correction?
• How will it affect growth and development?
• What will the future hold?

Although many questions are addressed during medical appointments and therapy visits, parents and caregivers might want additional information from someone who’s been there.

To request a match, email P2P@familyvoicesmn.org, or call toll free at 1-866-334-8444.

Are you looking for a way to connect with people who have cerebral palsy or spina bifida and their families? Join Gillette resource groups on Facebook! These community forums are the perfect place to ask questions, share your experiences and receive support from the community.

Below you'll find a list of other online resources and organizations for parents or caregivers of children, teens and adults who have disabilities or complex medical conditions.

Minnesota Support Resources

• Family Voices of Minnesota - A network of Minnesota families whose children, youth and young adults have special health care needs and disabilities.
• Special Needs Meetups in Minneapolis
• Minnesota Special Needs Support Groups, Classes and Networking Directory
• Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) - Economic, health and other services provided to people who have disabilities in Minnesota.

National Support Resources

• Family Voices - Promoting quality health care for all children and youth, particularly those with special health care needs.
• PACER Center - Created by parents of children and youth with disabilities to help other parents and families facing similar challenges.
• Parent 2 Parent USA - Emotional and informational support for families of children who have special needs.
• SpecialNeeds.com  - Special needs information and essential resources to help families successfully navigate raising a child who has special needs.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - Information about the laws and regulations that fall under the ADA. 

ABLE Act 101 (PDF) - Learn about the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, legislation signed into law in 2014 that allows states to create tax-advantaged savings programs for people who have disabilities to use on expenses related to their medical condition.

Gillette Financial Resources - If you need Gillette services but can’t afford them, we’ll work with you on payment options. We evaluate each family’s situation based on income, assets and other resources. Our goal is to make each family’s payments manageable.

You might benefit from setting up a payment plan. And you might be eligible for the Gillette Assistance Program (GAP), our financial service for families who can’t afford the costs of care at Gillette.

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program pays benefits to disabled adults and children who have limited income and resources. Learn more about SSI benefits for children who have disabilities, including how to apply.