FSO PASSAIC

Harryet Ehrlich

Board President
Harryet Ehrlich is a recently retired educator from the Wayne public school system where she taught for 26 years. Her experience has been with a diverse population of children including 18 years working with the multiple disabled as well as children on the autistic spectrum.

Prior to retirement, Harryet returned to school to earn a Post Master's Art Therapy Specialization. With this additional credential, she has become involved in a field close to her heart. Currently she is working part time as an art therapist for VSA arts of New Jersey, which provides individuals with disabilities arts programming.
Married for 38 years to her husband Stuart, they have two children, Rebecca and Sarah. Sarah the younger daughter is married and the mother of 2 year old Deserae. Their older daughter Rebecca, who has struggled with bipolar disorder her entire life, is close to completing her Associate in Science degree with a Social Work Option from Bergen Community College.

Rebecca has been Harryet's motivation for becoming involved with the Family Support Organization of Passaic County as well as informally serving as a support and resource for families who are struggling with a child or young adult who has mental illness. She often receives phone calls from desperate parents unable to cope with a child who is out of control or unable to function. Having been through many of the same issues, she has been able to provide them with encouragement, information and hope.

Because of Harryet Ehrlich's personal Resurrection and Redemption: Overcoming Mental Illness and Regaining Dignity struggle to find appropriate help for her daughter Rebecca's severe behavior problem and the mental health system's failure to help her daughter, she authored a book on the subject. Resurrection and Redemption: Overcoming Mental Illness and Regaining Dignity was coauthored with Rebecca's psychophamacologist Dr. Lweis Opler.

Nanette Armenta

Vice President, Board of Directors
"Never give up"...that's our motto. I am a single parent of two sons..... one with challenging behaviors. After years of receiving help from various community agencies to help make our lives better, I wanted to return the favor and reach out to those who are going thru what we have gone thru. Our faith keeps us going....one day at a time.

Charlotte R. Gorun

Executive Board Secretary
I am married to Ronald for thirty years and a mother to Matthew, age twenty-one years, and Daniel, who is a private in the U.S. Army. While our children were in school I volunteered on the executive board of the Home and Science Association. I have been a Registered Nurse since 1976, working in hospitals and physicians offices. I began my school nurse career with a private special education school for six years. I am currently with the Paterson Board of Education as a Certified School Nurse for the past five years. I am the Hospitality Chairperson for the Passaic County School Nurse Association. I have a published contribution in the Individualized Healthcare Plans for the School Nurse, a resource for the practice of school nursing. Our family is a member of St. Philip the Apostle Church in Clifton for which I volunteer as a Eucharistic Minister. Foremost I became involved with the FSO of Passaic County as a parent. Our family has experienced many behavioral, emotional and life threatening situations. Parenting does not come with an operation manual so when this organization was being created I felt it was a means for me to help other families with the life lessons our family had experienced to come through intact and build on our strengths. Recovery from mental health crisis is a slow arduous journey but our sons have conquered their demons and are on the way to becoming healthy, independent young adults and that is all a parent can wish for.

Ronald A. Gorun

Board Member
I have been married to my wife, Charlotte, for 30 years. We have two sons, Matthew, age twenty-one years, and Daniel, age nineteen years. I am recently retired, but have been employed in varied manufacturing areas and companies. I have experience in the areas of air craft technical support, fire helmet mfg., to wallpaper sample book binding. I have worked as a technical clerk, draftsman, pattern & mold make, tooling designer, machine & building maintenance mechanic, maintenance manager, purchasing agent, production supervisor, QC Manager, QC Engineer, etc. I have been as Assistant Scout Master, Explorer Scout Advisor, Cub Scout Den Leader, involved in scouting for over 25 years. I had been a member of the Garfield Elks Club, I am a certified safety instructor with the National Rifle Association. I along with my family, we are members of St. Philip the Apostle RC Church, Clifton, and I have experienced many negative aspects of mental health. Since my wife became a founding member of this board she has convinced me that this great means to help others, and show them there is a light at the end of the tunnel. For that reason I have become a Board Member to do what I can to help other families.