Matrix Parent Network & Resource Center

Specialties

Empowering families of children with special needs to successfully understand and access the systems that serve them.

History

Established in 1983.

In 1983 three mothers gathered around a kitchen table to share the challenges, heartbreak, and frustrations of raising a child with special needs. At the time, there was no place for a family in crisis with a diagnosis to turn to for compassion, encouragement, support, or information. Forming a network of parents, they decided to educate, support, and encourage families who were facing the same challenges they had faced alone. Together, they founded Matrix Parent Network & Resource Center, a 501©(3) non-​profit organization formed to serve families of children with special needs in the North Bay.

Matrix was founded upon the belief that parents can and must be the primary managers and advocates on behalf of their child with special needs. Parent-​to-​parent support and networking is central to the Matrix philosophy — it is powerful, effective, and allows us to continue expanding our services in the community, particularly to populations who are historically underserved.