Do You Contact or Know How To Contact the Offices That Help People w/E in Your State?

[acshuman]

I know that a person who has E needs to vent or speak about their problems sometimes! How many of the members of CWE know how to reach out and contact the offices that exist in their state of residency to help people who have E?
These offices can be a very helpful resource to anybody who is in need of help when that person is learning to deal with their E if a person to talk to is needed! I have been an active member of my state's Foundation Office for 37 years and have been helped in so many different ways. I have also found out that volunteering for this office is a very fulfilling thing for me to do. It can really help a person who has E to their self-confidence if they try to help other people who have E but have not reached the many different levels of dealing with their own E.
Doing something like this can help a big number of people, including yourself. There are many people who are living w/E, but don't have the strength to reach out to others for help. Many times the state offices know of these people and they need people who may live near these lonely people to help by simply talking with the lonely person.
I know that everybody on this site knows how it is much easier for a person w/E to speak to a another person if they know that that other person also has E! It may take something like this to open that lonely person up and allow them to become a part of society again. They can feel that much better just by knowing that they have 1 or more people who they can talk with anytime!
Will everybody please tell us how or why they feel that each of us could do this to help others who have E!! :bjump:
If you don't know how to contact these offices, the simplest way to find out is to google 'epilepsy _______ (enter your state in the blank)'.

ACsHuman

 

[Frink]

My local EFA is conveniently located 3 states away in Massachusetts. I only get down there once or twice a decade so volunteering is a bit inconvenient.

 

[acshuman]

Acyually How Helpful Are Some States?

Frink,
I have seen how some states seem to not have any Foundation Offices while some other states have several offices spread around the state. I have seen this when I have checked for these offices the way I stated in my original post.
Here in Minnesota we have 5 offices plus a couple of used clothing stores. In Wisconsin they have several offices around the state. I know that there are several offices around Texas.
It makes no sense to me that some states have zero offices. It almost seems as though they think they can just let their neighboring states take care of the inconvenience for them. We all know that there are people who have E in every state!
Sometimes I wonder if some states don't have offices because they have politicians in charge who still hold on to the old mindset that 'people who have E are NOT worth wasting money on'.

Readers,
I was born in the year(1954) that it was finally declared 'UNACCEPTABLE' for parents to dump any child that they may have, who had E, into an asylum. Prior to that declaration, parents had been able to 'lose' any child who had E. they could then lead a happy life with their 'normal' kids and NOT have to deal with their 'embarrassing' kids w/E.
This really shows me how ignorant or uncaring the leaders of the USA were, by allowing this, before 1954 by thinking it was OK to just 'discard' children w/E as if doing so would make you happier! If those people could become 'happier' after doing something like that to their own child, I would NOT want to be a part of any of those families!
We have advanced a great deal from then, but we still have a long way to advance to reach the correct understanding across society about E! :twocents:
I am NOT trying to say that I am a saint! I just want to tell people that they can change like I did! I can remember having really terrible thoughts about anyone who was in 'special ed' when I was under 15. I am just glad that I grew up and saw how wrong those thoughts were. I now know many people who would have been considered 'retards'(sorry, just telling the truth) when I was in school. These people have taught me many things about life and how a person has to accept their limitations. If you do so, you will be able to do many more things than you could if you refused to accept these same limitations and thought you couldn't do anything! :clap:

ACsHuman

 

[Frink]

The New England states are very small and Maine's' population is around 1.5 million, less than most cities in bigger states. I guess with such small populations it is hard for the EFA to open offices in every state.

 

[Porkette]

Hi AC,

My local office shut down because not enough people were asking for help and they would try to have meeting for everyone to get together but many wouldn't come or they had no way to get there. It was a shame but we also live in a smaller town and I'm sure that didn't help.
Wishing you well and May God Bless You,
Sue

 

[Hobbes]

Our local affiliate covers states where people are really spread out geographically - Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Montana. Really not easy to reach a lot of people outside of major cities and there is no office in Montana. They do have online access to many conferences. I don't think one can say they aren't responsive, it is a huge area to cover.

 

[acshuman]

Area With No Offices!

We have a huge area in Minnesota that doesn't have any coverage by office. Some of the people would have to travel 250 miles to get to an office. This area is as large as several New England states combined! I am trying to get an office started in that area!

ACsHuman

 

[Hobbes]

Maybe it's a population density thing but there's no easy way to support some offices when the supported population is small and spread out.

 

[acshuman]

Working With the State Office!!

I have been working with the state office, here in Minnesota, for several years by answering questions that they may have about dealing with the many different problems that E can cause for a person. You have to be very open about the way that you have done things, but it has created a very strong relationship between the office and me.
If they learn of someone who is having severe problems dealing with their E, they contact me to ask if I will try to talk to that person and tell or show that person that they CAN live a good life.
Because of doing this and other things, I have been put on a team whose task is to further the understanding by people who don't have E of the people w/E.
I am not able to get to the office so they record the meetings or we have them on conference calls.
Doing this removes the problems that can exist because of the distance a person may be from the office!
A person may be in a remote area, but that person may have something to say or some type of suggestion that could be very important. This fact negates the feeling of being too far away!
Anyone can have an idea or suggestion that can be important to many others, so we have to be willing to speak up and be heard! :twocents:
This is something that anyone CAN do if they want to!

ACsHuman

 

[Hobbes]

Well then, maybe you don't need to start an office in that remote area of Minnesota? I think you bring up two kinds of issues. Technology can address some remoteness (why our affiliate does webinars) but not all issues. I assure you that distances/density in Alaska/Montana are somewhat more exaggerated than Minnesota so rural issues can still be quite different across the US/Canada. Not all solutions scale.