Supporting families with special needs
In 2005 I was having lunch with a friend, explaining to him a problem I perceived. I saw that families affected by special needs were not connected to their local church, and many didn’t know what was available to help them. I told my friend I wanted to do something about it. I prayed that I could do something for families just like mine, those who have a loved one with disabilities. Soon after, in 2006, Need Project arose out of that vision. Our name, which seemed like an obvious choice to me, reflected our goal: to meet some of the needs of special families like mine. We simply wanted to help; that has been our aspiration from the beginning. We created things like our podcast to inform and inspire, and our database of local resources to connect people with the day-to-day support they need. These have all been born out of that initial prayer from 2005.
As we approach our tenth anniversary, we believe it is the right time to stop and examine all we do, and to answer the same questions we had ten years ago. Is what we are doing helping? Are there other things we could be doing that would make a bigger difference? Over the next few months we will be in prayer, thinking and planning about what we do and how we can do it better. There may be things we simply stop doing, because they are not making a difference. Maybe some of the things we are doing need to be changed in order to have a better effect. We are looking at all our programs to see just what we can do to truly fulfill our goal.
If you are part of a family affected by special needs, we would love to hear from you. What are the biggest needs you have? How can we help? We want to know: helping families always has been and will remain our objective, and your feedback enables us to do that in the best way possible. We pray that in the next ten years, God will enable us to support families more effectively than ever before.
Look for us connecting with you in 2016 to share our new vision, and be in prayer for us during this time of transition and decision.
Where to turn? Visit Need Project to locate numerous local and web resources concerning one of dozens of Disabilities Resources that can help guide you and your family where you can go in times of difficult circumstances. We're here to provide a bridge to help in your time of need to receive the resource(s) you need the most.
What are Disabilities? A disability is either an impairment that could be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental, or some combination of these. A disability may be present from birth, or occur during a person's lifetime.
Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations.
"What kind of Disabilities Resources does the Need Project provide? If you have the need to locate assistance for Schizophrenia, Autism, Cystic Fybrosis, Down Syndrome, Epilepsy, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Spina Bifida or one of the dozens of other Disabilities Resources -- Let Need Project be there to guide you using our Local Resources to locate disabilities resources in your state and within your own city."
There is help! Be sure to check out our Web Resources to discover helpful medical and general information, including interventions or treatments for dozens of Disabilities Resources.
