Collaboration is essential to Tombolo’s success. Our view of family support sees children and families within the much broader context of the community and asserts that effective support is best provided with collective action in many arenas – the school, the hospital, the neighborhood, the block, the home, and so on.
Children with chronic medical conditions often receive services and help from a variety of agencies. Frequently, these agencies provide fragmented services with little coordination or communication between them, even though such contact could help improve services for the child. Agencies often do not know what other service providers are doing, what services are already being provided, or what information is already available to help understand a child’s needs. The gaps in support are difficult to identify making it hard for families to express their needs and likewise for friends and the community to help families meet those needs.
By working with community organizations who serve children with chronic medical conditions we hope to:
- Reduce the fragmentation of services
- Build a comprehensive support system for children with chronic medical conditions and their families
- Increase the knowledge of service professionals about the needs of the children and their families
- Build upon all of the community’s resources in addressing the needs of these families
- Combine funds for shared purposes
Collaboration will ideally include parents, health and social service agencies, community organizations, businesses, universities, educational institutions, and so forth.
If you would like to discuss the opportunities to collaborate with Tombolo, please contact Nora Murphy (nora@tombolo.mn), Executive Director, or Monica Bicking (monica@tombolo.mn), Director of Programs, to set up a time to talk.
