Consumer and Family Advocacy Council

The ADAMH Board of Franklin County values input and advice from consumers and family members. To meet that need, the Consumer and Family Advisory Council was formed in 1997. The Council is a voluntary group of individuals who are either recovering from mental illness or drug and alcohol addiction themselves, or have family members who are. The Council provides a network of individuals for advocacy, support to families, and advice to the ADAMH staff and Board of Trustees. The Council serves as an important sounding board for the Board and for its service providers, as well as an educator in the community on mental health and substance abuse issues.

CFAC Member Spotlight : Christie Murphy Advocating for Mental Health Awareness

After years of struggling to provide her son, Christy Murphy knows the importance of quality mental health treatment, and a strong support network.

“When you have a son who is struggling with a mental illness you want the best for them, you want to help them,” said Murphy. “At times, finding help can be overwhelming and it takes support and resiliency to get the help you need.”

Murphy found support at the Consumer and Family Advocacy Council (CFAC) meetings, a consumer run organization that advises the behavioral health care system on consumer and family related issues.

Murphy, now the president of the CFAC, makes it a priority to be involved in the advocacy for mental health issues and wants to support others who felt the way she did when she sought treatment for her son. “I consider myself an intelligent, resourceful woman, and if I was having trouble finding help for my son, I knew others where as well,” said Murphy.

CFAC and its members make a difference in the quality of mental health and substance abuse services, through committee involvement, letter writing, public testimonies, and educating both the behavioral health care system and the Franklin County Community about mental illness and addiction.

Since their inception, CFAC has consistently stood by their mission to promote, educate, support, empower, and encourage activism of consumer and families with the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Care system in the Franklin County Community.

The Consumer and Family Advocacy Council is a voluntary group of individuals who are either recovering from mental illness or drug and alcohol addiction themselves, or have family members who are. The Council provides a network of individuals for advocacy, support to families, and advice to the ADAMH staff and Board of Trustees. Formed in 1997, the Council serves as an important sounding board for the ADAMH Board and for its service providers, as well as an educator in the community on mental health and substance abuse issues. For more information, visit www.adamhfranklin.org/consumers.