Our family support groups and advocacy programs, as well as our practitioner outreach, include participants from places as far flung as Alabama, California, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, New Jersey, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Oregon (to name only a few!). We've conducted research in New York and Massachusetts, and have board members and staff in places as diverse as Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, and even Germany.

In early 2021 we closed our White Plains, NY office permanently, and haven't looked back since.

Change that Stays on Mission

JBRF's executive director, Elizabeth Errico, is based in Hawaii and shares that this location, while far from the organization's origins in the New York area, is really integrated with JBRF's mission. "Our research on temperature dysregulation, and our experience working with families suffering with Fear of Harm, has shown us over and over how important stable temperatures are for successful symptom remission."

Ms. Errico moved to Hawaii, one of the places in the United States with the most stable temperatures, in part to put that theory into practice. "Many people know that I have a child with Fear of Harm," Ms. Errico tells us. "The northeast was a nightmare in terms of temperature. 30 or 40 degree temperature swings from morning to afternoon during the spring and fall made it impossible to keep body temperature steady. The bitter cold in the winter triggered overheating just as much as the oppressive humidity in the summer. We worried true long term stability was unrealistic there."

Moving to Hawaii was a gamble, but one she and her family believe paid off. "Not only has this move played a crucial role in improving our child's well-being, it's reinforced for me how sound our message to parents and practitioners is. We're living proof that stabilizing body temperature improves treatment outcomes."

Adjusting to the New World

The shift of JBRF's base of operations might have taken some people by surprise. But, Ms. Errico reports that people are adapting well and that it hasn't slowed the organization down one bit. "We're just as effective as ever." Tried and true technologies such as email and teleconferencing have integrated with newer applications such as Zoom, Calendly, and social media platforms to make communications even quicker and easier than ever before. Ms. Errico describes the ease of this work saying, "I can email my colleague who's 6 hours ahead of me in time zones, she can access my calendar while I'm asleep, and we're ready for a videoconference first thing the next morning without any time lost. Honestly, we're a leaner and more efficient organization."

Through JBRF's website you can find multiple ways of contacting the organization, and it now lists two locations where mail can be sent. JBRF is able to route its regular business through its address in Irvine, CA, while the fundraising efforts (and its accompanying mailing address) are now directed to Hawaii where Ms. Errico is based. "It's important for me to be the first one to collect correspondence from our supporters, to be able to visit the print shop and mailing house, and to oversee all donor communications personally."

Throughout all of these changes JBRF remains as focused as ever on conducting cutting edge research, bringing essential information to families and practitioners, and to providing support to families who are still struggling. "Where we are doesn't change who we are. No matter what, we're still JBRF."

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