The Lainie's Angels Parent Advocate Program is based on the success of a model for parent support and advocacy developed by CURE Childhood Cancer Association for the University of Rochester Medical Center.
The success of the CURE program has provided the medical and social services community with a viable working model for providing parent peer support. Lainie's Angels mission is to expand this model around the country.
The primary role of the Parent Advocate Program is to provide support for parents, to help them understand and cope with the crisis of pediatric cancer. Advocates help parents through the diagnostic and therapeutic process, while maintaining an honest and open communication about the child's disease and the status of treatment. This approach is one that fosters genuine hope during a process that is often painful and confusing.
Advocates help coordinate and facilitate support groups that address parents' needs. For instance, they might sponsor a weekly "coffee hour" for parents of children who are currently hospitalized. This provides an informal way for the advocates and other staff (social workers, psychologists and educational liaisons) to discuss parents' concerns, and provides parents with an opportunity to interact with other parents sharing a similar experience.
The Parent Advocate also helps parents deal effectively with the family disruption and turmoil that can result in marital, sibling and peer conflicts. The advocate can help the family obtain the assistance they need from various members of the psychosocial and pediatric team.
The Parent Advocate Program is supported by grants and donations and is provided at no cost to the family.
Finding a Parent Advocate
Through partnerships with Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Lainie's Angels aids in the funding of its ParentWISE program as a part of the hospital's expanded palliative care program. For more information on this exciting collaboration, and the comprehensive, compassionate care it makes available to parents and families of pediatric patients in the Chicago area, please visit this article announcing Lainie's Angels sponsorship of this important initiative.
Contact Us for an Advocate or member of the Lainie's Angels support network near you. While we're still in the process of securing a nation-wide network, Lainie's Angels has friends, doctors, and parents in cities across the United States ready to lend an ear, some advice, or just listen to your concerns.
Getting Involved
If you are interested in starting a Lainie's Angels Parent Advocate Program in your hometown, we can help.
There are numerous factors to consider when developing your own Parent Advocate Program. Call us, and we will take you through the process, step by step.
Contact Stathi Afendoulis at our home office in Edison, New Jersey:
Phone: 732-906-7887 stathi@lainiesangels.org
