Families with children with disabilities can find it tough finding the help they need.

That is where SNAPS, The Foothills Special Needs Association for Parents and Siblings, can help out.

Michelle Slomp of High River is grateful to SNAPS because they advocate for families who are too busy to advocate for themselves.

"Cause a lot of times we can't advocate for ourselves," Slomp said. "Because one, we don't know how, and two, we are too busy doing everything else. We just don't have time with the amount of therapies and other programming our kids do. So they are kind of that voice when we can't speak for ourselves."

She said that is why it is important to have a group like SNAPS in the Foothills Community.

When her children were diagnosed with disabilities the family was living in Saskatchewan and they were advised to move somewhere that they could get more help, so they moved back to Alberta.

"We were kind of starting from scratch, we didn't know where to go and what to do. We had just received a diagnosis. I was a gopher hiding out. Cause I didn't know what to do and I was overwhelmed and you are lost and a friend of mine said phone SNAPS."

So she did and Orvella Small of SNAPS came to their home for an initial meeting and she was able to show the family that it wasn't the end of the world.

That initial meeting from SNAPS enabled them to see what the future would look like, and move past grieving for the future they had planned for their children when they were born.

"Really that was our plans, not the plan. So we have new dreams for our kids."

Her plan includes her boys growing up to be employed.

"I want them to be taxpayers, I want them to be part of their community without SNAPS that wouldn't be possible."

Keeping SNAPS running for the year takes a fair bit of fundraising  -  August 26th there was a golf tournament and they are the organizers of the High River Farmers Market.

To make a donation go to Foothils SNAPS website.

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