ASK Family Services (ASK) is a non-profit (501c3) organization dedicated to supporting families and youth with mental health or developmental challenges. Through collaboration with families and community partners, we strive to guide services in Kalamazoo County to be more family-driven, youth-guided, and culturally competent.

We believe that the support that comes from someone who has ‘been there’, and who can personally relate to the obstacles, frustrations, joys, and celebrations of raising a child is often extremely valuable to families and youth. As parents of children with developmental, mood, behavioral, and emotional disorders themselves, our Family Support Partners draw from personal experience and perspective to empower families.  As young adults with lived experiences with mental health challenges ourselves, our Transition Peer Support Specialists and our Youth Peer Support Specialists empower youth to achieve goals important to them by sharing their stories of discovery and recovery.

ASK offers opportunities for youth with emotional, behavioral, and mood disorders to be empowered to impact youth services locally, within the state of Michigan, and nationally through our Calling All Youth, Motivating Others through Voices of Experience  (C.A.Y. M.O.V.E.) program. This service is available to high school aged youth in Kalamazoo County who want to speak up and be heard by adults, teachers, governmental agencies, therapists, counselors, juvenile justice, schools, and other authority figures in their life.

ASK offers a variety of support groups, skill-building groups, parent trainings, Sibshops, youth and family leadership opportunities, and other trainings focused on topics affecting Kalamazoo County’s youth and families. ASK offers any of these opportunities to the entire community.  Parents who are interested in using their voice to elicit change, have the opportunity to use their experiences and knowledge to impact the services offered to youth and families through membership in our Parent Advisory Group. Staff, youth, and families who have faced adversity and stigma regarding mental and developmental challenges use these experiences to educate the Kalamazoo community through various stigma-reducing events and activities. At ASK, we believe that with hope, strength, and our experiences, we can mold our community into a place where diverse individuals are included, embraced, and valued for their strengths.