David: BASIC

BASIC – Brothers And Sisters In CHARGE

The San Francisco Bay Area now has an organization for families with members with CHARGE syndrome. Begun in 2010 by two parents (Lacey Friedman and Victoria Criswell) as a lunchtime meeting group for mothers, the group held its first full family event on May 28th at the Care Parent Network in Martinez. The facilitator, Louise Schneiders from the Network, led a very interesting discussion on the topics of coping strategies, inspirations, and resources. Twelve families were represented at the meeting, and the total group included parents and grandparents, siblings, and 10 children and young adults with CHARGE, ranging in age from less than 2 years to 22 years of age. Also present were Jill Stewart, caseworker from Regional Center of the East Bay, and David Brown from CDBS. At least 5 of the families who were present are intending to come along to the CDBS Northern California Family Picnic in Hayward next Saturday. These are early days for the group, which at the moment is considered to be primarily a Bay Area organization, but it will, we hope, expand to become truly state-wide over the next few years. For more information on BASIC contact Lacey Friedman at laceydoxie@yahoo.com