Anna Dellarosa, at left, is raising her three great-nieces in Turners Falls, Massachusetts. Gretchen Emond is co-director of The Support Network, which assists families in navigating the mental health care system.
Credit: BEN JAMES / NEPM
By BEN JAMES • APR 15, 2021
Gretchen Emond and Anna Dellarosa have a relationship forged from years of common experience.
“We are parents with lived experience raising a child with a mental health challenge,” said Emond, a family support therapist and co-director of The Support Network, which assists families in the difficult task of navigating the mental health system.
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“I wouldn’t even know where my mind would be if I did not call this woman and say, ‘I’m losing my mind,’” Dellarosa said, nodding toward Emond. “‘Could you give me advice really quickly, so I can just take a deep breath and just go, you know, the next few hours?’”