Liz Reitman

5 min | The reit Way

Supporting Other Parents Like Me through Mental Health Month and Beyond

May marks Mental Health Awareness Month, representing an opportunity to check in with one another and ourselves. Each year, millions of people face the reality of living with mental health challenges, and I gather that many of us have been touched by mental health in some way, shape, or form. 

As some of you may know, my family is no stranger to this space; ​​I saw my child struggle with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and substance use disorder. My family’s personal experience was a huge factor in co-founding Other Parents Like Me (OPLM), an empowered online community of parents supporting parents with help, hope, and healing. 

OPLM’s digital community provides a support network for parents supporting parents of children struggling with mental health – including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance use, behavior disorders, and more – with opportunities to connect with mental health professionals, industry leaders, and guest speakers. We only launched in January, but we’ve made a big impact on our community thus far:

OPLM features:

  • 17+ parent-led Zoom support groups per week (including Men’s groups, Trauma-informed Yoga, Meditation, and more)
  • 25+ peer trained parents facilitating weekly meetings
  • 200 members and counting
  • 1,000+ resources spanning articles, books, podcasts, and a support directory of recovery and wellness professionals available on our resource hub 
  • 1,000+ Facebook followers and 600+ Instagram followers, growing our community organically from the ground up
  • Weekly Thursday Speaker Series — booked through the end of the year. Join us!
  • Monthly Expert Panel Series — booked through the end of the year. Join us for our May Panel hosted by Educational Consultants!
  • Partnerships with programs, schools, educational consultants, and nonprofit organizations, including NATSAP and IECA

And we’re just getting started! Through our platform, you can meet a community of parents who are supporting one another through their parenting journeys, and expanding the scope of what we call “awareness.”

I have gained tremendous awareness, support, hope, and healing through connecting with Other Parents Like Me. If this speaks to you or you know someone who could benefit from a community of parents supporting one another, try OPLM’s free 7 day trial!