The power of your voice: Meet Gail

Gail Engel never imagined her life journey would touch so many lives by raising her voice and telling her story. Gail’s lived experiences of being in an abusive marriage and the death of her second husband left both Gail and her daughter with trauma and PTSD. Her daughter struggled with mental health issues for years. 

Gail’s story is a testament to the transformative power of resilience and the profound impact one person can have when they find their voice.

“I struggled to find support and resources. I was a single mom trying to get by in the world the best I could,” said Gail.

As Gail’s daughter entered her late 20s, she continued to struggle with her mental health, entering several unsafe relationships, abusing alcohol, and eventually becoming pregnant. Gail’s grandson was born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder “FASD” and Autism. Gail’s desperation to support her daughter and her grandson pushed her to the limits of her knowledge and resources. 

“We didn’t know anything about FASD and adverse childhood effects,” she confessed.

In search of guidance, Gail reached out to the child welfare system, only to find that the solution presented was to open a child welfare case against her daughter. Kinship care was not always a consideration back then, and the likelihood that her grandson would have been put in foster care left Gail feeling this path was not right for her or her daughter. Gail’s daughter then had a second child which caused more disruptions in her family and began the journey of raising her grandson. 

Gail was introduced to the Family Leadership Training “FLTI”. A program that encouraged community members to be involved in government and community engagement. The 21-week leadership training empowered her to become an advocate for mental health, children with disabilities, and families raising kin. 

“This is the best thing I ever did. I understood how to get my voice heard,” Gail reflected. 

The 21-week course led Gail to the creation of a non-profit organization Grand Family Coalition which offers supports to other grandparents and kinship caregivers in her community. 

Grand Family Coalition, which has supported over 750 Colorado kinship families since its inception. Gail now works with national advocacy organizations, Generations United, Grand Voice Network and the National Technical Assistance Center and most recently she joined the Casey Family Programs Technical Assistance Unite.  

In 2018, two important pieces of national legislation, the Family First Prevention Service Act and Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, spotlighted the central role of families in decision-making and policy development. Simultaneously, the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) created the Family Voice Council (FVC), providing a platform for families to advocate for equitable and accessible human services. Gail embraced this opportunity and not only sat on the Family First Implementation team but also became a member of the Family Voice Council.

Gail’s participation in FVC allowed her to share her story, representing diverse backgrounds, life stages, and families involved in the system. Over the last five years, their voices grew stronger, and more resources for families struggling with mental health and disabilities began to emerge.

Lindsay Gilgrest and Gail Engel, two members of the Family Voice Council and having specific focus on Child Welfare, inspired others on the FVC to join them in approaching the Division of Child Welfare (DCW) to help them to create a Family Advisory Council. Due to the success of the CDHS Family Voice Council the launch of the Child Welfare Family Advisory Council (FAC) with support of the Division of Child Welfare (DCW) was launched in 2022. Gail notes that FAC has made rapid progress, benefiting from the insights some members have brought from their experience with the CDHS Family Voice Council. 

“We’ve established a clear vision, refined our rules of engagement, and regularly communicate through a monthly newsletter and blogs. We’re currently developing a statewide survey to gather perspectives on how the child welfare system has affected individuals,” said Gail

The Family Voice councils have provided a vital platform for families to engage in ongoing dialogues with legislators and administrators, emphasizing the critical need for whole-family involvement. 

As Gail wisely points out, we need government to hear “Nothing About Us Without Us” and “Just saying once is not enough. You have to say it over and over, and you have to say it to a million people for real change to happen in the child welfare system.”

As Gail reflects on her journey, she shares, “I would have never seen myself here, not in a million years. I used to be very shy and bashful, believing I had no voice. But today, I’m different. I show up, and that’s important. I may not be able to do everything, but doing something is far better than doing nothing. Now, I’m anxious to discover what the next 20 years will be like for families.”

Gail’s story is a testament to the transformative power of resilience and the profound impact one person can have when they find their voice.

Those with lived experience in child welfare who want to join Gail in pushing for positive transformation in the child welfare system can apply to the Child Welfare Family Advisory Council.