York, Cumberland, Oxford and Androscoggin Counties
Saco
(207) 284-0033
Contact Us!
1-800-264-9224
Toll Free Statewide
To find out more about support groups and other G.E.A.R. Parent Network sponsored activities click on the Regional Parent Support Coordinators name above that is nearest you to email them!
G.E.A.R. Parent Network services are offered at no cost to parents, grandparents, foster parents or caregivers of children with behavioral health concerns.
Our statewide toll free number (above) is answered Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or you may also contact your local Regional Parent Support Coordinator listed below. Each person's name is a link to email the Regional Parent Support Coordinator.
Your call is very important to us! If we do not answer your call right away, we may be talking with another parent, so please leave us a message with your name, telephone number and a good time to contact you and we will call you back promptly!
Parents Working Together To Help Each Other And Their Children With Behavioral Health Concerns
This page was last updated on: March 11, 2009
G.E.A.R. Parent Network Regional Parent Support Coordinators have the experience of loving and caring for a child with behavioral health needs. They know the importance of having someone to talk to who understands what life can be like surrounding issues at home, in the community and at school. Through sharing information, parents learn about services for children, how to access them and what has worked for others.
The G.E.A.R. Parent Network was started by Charlene Milliken,
a parent and foster parent who recognized the need for positive
help and support for parents coping with the demands of caring
for children with special needs. This poem is in her honor.
Parable of the Rose
A certain man planted a rose. He watered it faithfully.
Before it blossomed he examined it and saw the bud would soon blossom but noticed thorns upon the stem. He thought…
How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought he neglected to water the rose and before it was ready to bloom it died.
So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose: the godlike qualities planted in us at birth growing amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns and defects. We despair thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.
Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others.
This is the characteristic of love, to look at a person and know their true faults. Accepting them into your life while recognizing the nobility in their soul. Helping them to realize that they can overcome their faults. If we show them the rose they will conquer their thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over.
Author Unknown
The following Awards were presented on Thursday, May 17, 2007 at Crisis & Counseling Centers Annual Meeting and Dinner, Senator Inn, Augusta, Maine
Appropriately, this new award was presented to Charlene Milliken, the founding director of the G.E.A.R. Parent Network. This year and in years to come, the award will honor one individual who has demonstrated resiliency and outstanding committment to the emotional and mental well-being of children. The 2007 award was presented to parent, Lisa Bishop! Congratulations Lisa!
Agency of the Year Award
This award recognizes an agency whose strong collaboration and communication with Crisis & Counseling staff helps to ensure the best care to consumers and families served by both agencies.
Presented to the Learning Disabilities Association of Maine, Brenda Bennett, Executive Director! Congratulations Brenda and thank you to the LDA staff!
Charlene and Lisa
Carol Tiernan and Lisa Bishop
Carol Tiernan, Director, G.E.A.R. Parent Network presenting the Charlene Milliken Resiliency Rose Award to Lisa Bishop
Lincoln and Sagadahoc Counties including Brunswick
Topsham
(207) 721-0161
Charlene Milliken Resiliency Rose Award
The following Award was presented on Thursday, May 15, 2008 at Crisis & Counseling Centers
Annual Meeting and Dinner, Senator Inn, Augusta, Maine.
The Charlene Milliken Resilency Rose Award honors one individual or couple who has demonstrated
resiliency and outstanding committment to the emotional and mental well-being of children.
This year the award was presented to parents Brian and Shanna Spaulding!
Congratulations to Brian & Shanna!!
Pictured from Right to Left: G.E.A.R. staff member KathyTisdale, Brian & Shanna Spaulding and their two guests join us for dinner!
Pictured from Right to Left: Carol Tiernan, G.E.A.R. Parent Network Program Director awarding this years Resiliency Rose Award to Brian and Shanna Spaulding!
Pictured from Left to Right: Shanna Spaulding, Carol Tiernan and Brian Spaulding
Congratulations to Shanna and Brian Spaulding
2008 Charlene Milliken Resiliency Rose Award Recipents!
