What: Mom2Mom, a 24-7 peer counseling helpline for caretakers of children with special needs operated by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, announces its nationwide expansion. The announcement will be made during Mom2Mom’s annual Mother’s Day celebration in which callers to the helpline meet their counselors for the first time.

When: Wednesday, May 6, from 10 a.m. to noon

  • 10 a.m.–11 a.m.: Celebration where callers meet their peer support counselors for the first time.
  • 11 a.m.–noon: Announcement of Mom2Mom USA in which approximately 30 mothers nationwide who have requested Mom2Mom’s services in their state will call in to hear the announcement. Calls will come in from Calif., Colo., Fla., Ga., Ill., Kan., Mass., Mich., Minn., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, S.C., Texas and Va.

Where: Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, 151 Centennial Ave., Piscataway, NJ 08854

Who: Mom2Mom peer support counselors, mothers of children with special needs from around the state who have called the helpline and Dr. Allison Blake, Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families.

Visual Opportunities: The introduction of the mothers to their peer support counselors is a strong photography or video opportunity. Also at the event, the mothers will create a banner filled with inspirational messages that will be used during the announcement of Mom2Mom’s national expansion.

Background: Since 2010, Mom2Mom – the 24/7 peer-support helpline for mothers of children with special needs directed by University Behavioral Health Care, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences – has helped moms care for their own mental health. It has made more than 70,000 contacts to date.

The helpline is unique in that calls are answered by mothers of special needs children who have been trained as peer counselors, based on a model of “reciprocal peer support.” Through a partnership with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, peer counselors provide various resources, host support groups throughout the state, or just lend an empathetic ear.

Mom2Mom also helps women who have fewer opportunities for assistance, such as those with adult children with disabilities who have “aged out” of the system and members of the Spanish-speaking community.

For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/1QeAMIl 

Mom2Mom Helpline: 877-914-6662

Mom2Mom Website: http://mom2mom.us.com