Parent to Parent of Miami provides free resources for parents of children with disabilities
MIAMI - Parent to Parent of Miami has served as a resource center for parents who have children with disabilities in Miami-Dade County for 38 years.
"It is an organization close to my heart and so many parents because we are here for parents," Fari Garcia, CEO and President of Parent to Parent of Miami, said.
She has dedicated her life to helping parents of children with disabilities because she has been on that same journey with her youngest son David, who was diagnosed with autism at an early age and is now 25 years old and thriving.
"Our mission is to empower and support parents of children with disabilities," Garcia said. "The majority of our staff are parents who for the most part have been helped themselves and they have gone through the journey with their children and now they are giving back by sometimes even working at the organization or at times even becoming board members."
Parent to Parent of Miami provides disability-specific information, peer support, one-to-one coaching, educational workshops, community resources and advocacy in Miami-Dade. Parent to Parent of Miami responds to the needs and supports all disabilities and age groups. Services are provided in English and Spanish, and is free to parents.
The purpose of the Community Parent Resource Center is to provide underserved parents of children with disabilities with the training and information to enable them to participate cooperatively and effectively in helping their children meet the developmental, functional and challenging academic achievement goals, and to help parents unlock their children's full potential.
"We have workshops on so many topics," Garcia said. "We can be talking about behavioral support, we can be talking about early intervention, we can be talking about ADHD, dyslexia, anything disability-wise. We bring those topics and those professionals here to our office so that the parents have the information they need to make those good, wise decisions for their kids."
Every year Parent to Parent helps thousands of parents who have children with disabilities in Miami-Dade County like Nicole Costa and her son Jack.
"I think every parent needs to know that there are resources," Costa said. "Whenever you get a phone call from a school or you get a diagnosis from a provider, it feels very lonely. I think everyone has this vision that their children are supposed to be a certain way, and we are all given children with different needs, disabilities, different specialties. Even though my son has his challenges, I think as a parent and most parents, we think about their future and are they going to be OK, are these challenges going to impede them from a typical life? Parent to parent has really given me hope and guidance on how to get him there."
Meteorologist Lissette Gonzalez has served as emcee of the annual Parent to Parent Journey of Dreams fundraising gala for the past few years.
"I am always moved to see these bright, talented children who are thriving and their supportive parents who are helping them dream big,' Gonzalez said.
Garcia said, "That's one of our big mottos. Dream big for kids with disabilities. We want them to believe that their kids can overcome, can grow, there's no limitations for what they can do."
If you are interested in supporting Parent to Parent of Miami, you will find more information on how to donate or volunteer on its website.
Send us your story at MiamiProud@cbs.com
