Philadelphia Family Voices (PFV) recently welcomed our new Program Manager, Natasha “Tasha” Liggins. Tasha joins us at a busy time, as the school year has taken off, and our amazing team is providing support to a record number of families! We sat down with Tasha to get to know her better and hear why family peer support is her dream job.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
My name is Tasha, I am an African American female from Philadelphia. I was born and raised in Philadelphia and grew up attending both private and public schools. I’m a mother of five- I have three biological children and two bonus children; I’m also a wife and we take care of my father-in-law. I’m very family oriented.
Natasha Liggins, PFV Program Manager and Lauren Flynn, PFV Executive Director
I was a teen parent, having my first child when I was 17. I was in high school and that’s when I began my journey of advocacy. I went to Rosemont college and then went to Lincoln University and got my master’s in early childhood education. Throughout that time, I worked as assistant and lead teachers in early childhood centers and education centers. I feel like that’s where I developed my passion for children in urban communities. Working in early childhood education, you see that there’s not a lot of funding and not a lot of attention that is given to education. This helped me begin to advocate for better education in our city.
What interested you in joining Philadelphia Family Voices?
When I saw the description of the program, what struck me was being a parent of children with behavioral health concerns. I was going through a hard time with my children. Two of my children have the same diagnosis, but it looks completely different. I understand how overwhelming it can be for families, and that sometimes they’re not knowledgeable about certain things because I’m not, sometimes I still need help. And I’ve been going through these processes for so long I felt like I would be a perfect addition for Philadelphia Family Voices.
I researched the program and felt like it would be home for me. I could bring a lot to the team and the team can bring a lot to me because we are still navigating these systems, I ‘m still struggling with different services. You know when you’re working with people who are going through the same things, it’s just like a breath of fresh air. One of the benefits of working for the program is you get the expertise of the staff; they have already helped me [with] one of my children. I’m still just amazed by everything!
How does your personal experience align with the mission of Philadelphia Family Voices?
My personal experience aligns with the mission of PFV because the mission is families know families best, and our mission is to help families navigate systems and services in our city. I have worked with some of the main systems in Philadelphia…. early education, early intervention, and child welfare systems, and I’ve been employed by different community programs. I’ve made connections with different people and learned about different resources and different ways to navigate the system, and I can share that information with my team and the families that participate with our program.
What does a family peer specialist do?
A family peer specialist supports families with navigating different systems. They offer them support, guidance, and a shoulder to lean on. They offer their life experiences as they are people who’ve been through a lot of what our families go through. [Our family peer specialists] have navigated and advocated for their own children and gained the personal and professional experience to share with other families.
What do you see some of the biggest needs for Philadelphia families?
Some of the biggest needs are better access to quality mental health and behavioral health services. I am personally jumping through hoops to get the services for my child. [He] was approved for services back in June and those services have not begun. Something needs to be done about children [who] are on waiting lists and are just not getting the support that they need. If their mental and behavioral health is not where it should be, it’s hard for [children] to learn, and it’s hard for children to participate in other activities.
I’ve worked with quite a few families who had children on the spectrum, and they just did not know what to do. If their child is on a waiting list, there needs to be other programs and resources put in place. Even if it’s an inclusive setting, some children’s behaviors do not align with the training and capability of regular education teachers. It’s not doing the child or the teacher any good if the teacher has no training with autism.
I have a friend who’s constantly battling to get her autistic son the services that he requires and deserves. More attention and resources need to be provided. [It’s] something we need to figure out as a community, we need to come together and figure out what needs to be put in place because more and more children are being diagnosed with autism, and there’s a lot of children I feel are not being properly served.
What is your favorite moment working at PFV so far?
My favorite moment working at PFV was doing one-on-one interviews with the team. Every meeting ran over the allotted time which was amazing! Getting to know all the work that the team has done already, and the work they did before PFV that [they brought] here to help grow this program, and the work that they’ve done with their families is truly amazing. I learned so much from each one of the family peer specialists. Everyone has been so positive and working together to get the job done. I feel like I joined a family and not just an organization, and it was just like, “yeah, this is where you belong”.
What was one of those important things you learned when you were becoming an advocate for your own child?
One of the most important things is to not give up! It can be very overwhelming; you have to follow up constantly. I had to take a week off from work to sit in a class with my child. [Do] not give up, reach out to services, connect with different programs, and do not try to do everything on your own! Get a support system, a team, a lawyer…. get a community leader [or] reach out to your church or your mosque or whatever religious affiliation you align with, get a family peer specialist. I wish I knew about this program when I was going through [challenges] with my son.
What excites you about family peer support?
Wow, what excites me about family peer support is that everybody lived it. I think that’s mind blowing because how do you find a team of people who have been through the same thing to help other families? It excites me because everybody who’s working for the program have lived or are still living in those experiences and still navigating these systems
How would a parent or guardian know if Philadelphia family voices is right for them?
If they need support, somebody to sit in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting, to explain systems or to help find services. Philadelphia Family Voices is going to support you in your journey, help guide you. We won’t do it for you, but we will lead you in the right direction. If you don’t want to go through it alone or have a support system but need people who are more knowledgeable and understand what you’re going through, Philadelphia Family Voices is for you.
How can somebody get a family care specialist from Philadelphia Family Voices?
They can go call our main number 484-228-1229 or check out our services on our website at www.philadelphiafamilyvoices.com. Someone from our team will get back to them quickly and get them assigned to a family peer specialist. It’s a very easy process and it’s no cost to families in Philadelphia. If you know any family in need of services like ours, please share our name, and share our social media, we are up and coming!
Natasha Liggins, Philadelphia Family Voices Program Manager