About Us
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History MIKID’s history stemmed from one individual’s overwhelming concern for the lack of services provided for children in the mental health field and the many serious issues that were not being properly addressed. Sue Gilbertson began her quest in 1984 when her son, Eric, was diagnosed with mental illness. In trying to get assistance for her son, Ms. Gilbertson found herself amidst a conventional medical community that was simply not equipped to handle the problems her son was facing. She was confronted with a community that was indifferent and uncooperative to her needs. Ms. Gilbertson later came to realize that her struggles were not isolated incidents. She met other families facing similar situations in requesting help for their children who had behavior health challenges. Sue took on the responsibility of uniting these families and worked together with them to build a better mental health system for their children. Through the efforts of Ms. Gilbertson, families were first brought together in a support group on March 11, 1987. This led to the formation of MIKID, Mentally Ill Kids in Distress. Today, MIKID employs 100+ professionally trained staff offering an array of services to families of children with emotional and behavioral challenges. As you will note throughout our website, MIKID provides education, resources, and support to hundreds of Arizona families annually. MIKID has four full service offices located in Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, and Eagar. |
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Mission Statement: “Improving Arizona’s Children’s Behavioral Health one family at a time” President : Maggie Martinez; Vice President: Julia Engram; Secretary: Steve Carter; Treasurer: Matt Sloan; Founder: Sue Gilbertson Board Members : Susan Cannata, Ilene Dode, Sam Engram, Carolyn Hinkle, James Russo. Status & Affiliations MIKID is certified as a Community Service Agency with service locations in Phoenix, Tucson, Eagar and Yuma. In addition, MIKID staff work from their homes in other areas of the state to reach families through-out Arizona. MIKID is the state chapter of the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. MIKID is a member of NAMI Arizona, of the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers, of the Mental Health Awareness Coalition and of PAFCO (Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition) Monetary Donation MIKID is a non-profit, charitable organization. We welcome donations. We commit donations to support work that serves families and youth who are not funded by other sources or programs. Donations may be made by sending a check or money order to MIKID at 2642 E. Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ 85016 |