Parent Mental Wellness

Formerly known as the Pregnancy and Postpartum Mental Health of Lancaster County, our Parent Mental Wellness program raises awareness of perinatal and postpartum depression/anxiety, connects patients to care, eliminates racial disparities in maternal mental healthcare, is inclusive of gender experiences and educates healthcare and mental healthcare providers.

NEW! Moment to Breathe Parent Group

Touchstone Foundation, together with Community Action Partnership of Lancaster County, announces the start of a new resource for parents in Lancaster County.  

This parent group provides an opportunity for parents to discuss mental health for themselves and their families, in a supportive, judgment-free, family-friendly space. Facilitated by Touchstone Foundation staff and local mental health experts, “A Moment to Breathe” is free for everyone and includes on-site childcare, a light meal, and bus pass/gas card.  

Our goal is to provide some much-needed free time for parents to connect with each other, in a judgment-free, supportive, safe environment.

All parents in Lancaster County are welcome to attend with their children. Parents may bring questions or topics for discussion, or simply attend to learn, listen, and meet other parents in your community. 

This parent group also includes a simultaneous children’s program. The children’s program not only provides parents and caregivers with time for themselves but also offers a quality educational experience for children of all ages.  

This group is FREE to all participants, you’ll just need to register ahead of time. The group will be held every third Wednesday of the month from 5:30pm – 7:30pm.

Schedule:

  • 5:30pm-6:30pm: dinner, fellowship, and independent time
  • 6:00pm-7:30pm: active childcare
  • 6:30pm-7:30pm: Guided group discussions

Our Partnership

Touchstone Foundation’s mission is to elevate the mental well-being of youth and children in Lancaster County. Assessing the needs of parents, new parents especially, and creating resources that allow them to listen, learn and grow as caregivers.

Touchstone Foundation seeks a partnership with CAP to establish this program as a whole family approach.

With a Two-Generation program, we believe that people of all ages and life stages have the potential to grow, learn, and change. It ensures that the whole family can build a strong future for themselves at the same time, through a program that includes both parents and their children and values and supports the goals of parent and child equally. In this way, the whole family can reach educational and career goals, build stronger social connections, and strengthen the wellbeing of their family for the current generations and generations to come! 

About CAP Lancaster

Community Action Partnership (CAP) is Lancaster County’s largest anti-poverty organization and boasts a service profile that interrupts generational poverty with programs that assist families at every age and place in life.

Knowing that poverty is complex and its contributing factors vary, CAP is committed to creating innovative, person-centered initiatives, including social enterprise businesses, to augment our many long-standing and successful anti-poverty programs that advance the social and economic mobility of families. CAP is person-centered, outcomes-based, data-driven, and focused on greater sector impact and systems change.

Want to get involved?

Contact our programs manager, Shanece Bowman, to learn more about our programs.

Email her at sbowman@touchstonefoun.org or call 717-397-8722

History of Supporting Parents

The Pregnancy and Postpartum Mental Health of Lancaster County (PPMHLC) Fund was converted to our Maternal Mental Wellness Program! The fund was a grassroots effort by parents and mental health providers, including to help train medical providers to diagnose and refer patients with perinatal and postpartum depression/anxiety disorders.

In 2015, we began a postpartum mental health support group with Mental Health America of Lancaster County. The group supports new mothers/parents with peer connections and help accessing local resources. Our staff and Board members, including a licensed psychologist, facilitated the groups.

This fund was created in 2018 by the partnership of Touchstone Foundation, Keystone State Doula Services (KSDS), and Move Forward Counseling. More recently, we have partnered with Patients R Waiting, to support the Diversifying Doulas program. 

The COVID-19 pandemic paused our in-person meetings and groups continued to meet online and via social media. We attempted to restart the group in Spring 2022 but soon recognized a limiting factor in participation was the lack of childcare and a meal for parents/caregivers.