Grand Rapids: Program Aims to help Parents

Posted by: "j dawg" joemaflage@yahoo.com   joemaflage

Mon May 10, 2010 5:10 am (PDT)

Maybe our message is getting out to other groups?
 
http://www.mlive.com/living/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/05/program_aims_to_help_boost_par.html
 
Emily Zoladz | The Grand Rapids PressPreparing for parenthood: Jennifer Albright and Dave Parsons, both of Grand Rapids, study a workbook about communication skills during a parenting class at D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s. Encouraging Family Foundations is a three-week course, offered twice a month to help future parents prepare for a family. GRAND RAPIDS — Raising babies is inherently challenging for stressed-out parents.
But when you add to the mix no job, no high school diploma and budget-crushing debt, the prospect of enjoying family life grows bleak.
The Grand Rapids-based Encouraging Family Foundations, a program of the Child and Family Resource Council, offers solutions for unmarried couples age 17 and older who desire to soak up skills that help bolster family life.
With unemployment in Grand Rapids still hovering at 12.8 percent, EFF outreach and recruitment coordinator Travis Foster believes its workshops are well-timed.
The stress and strain of life should make EFF’s goal of increasing enrollment from 40 couples a year to 200 easy to attain, Foster said.
EFF’s intent is to keep both parents active in their children’s lives.
Prospects for a better-paying job, an education, balanced checkbook and finely tuned communication skills pave the way for parents and their children to enjoy a more tranquil family life, Foster said.
“Statistics show that when the couples or parents have a healthy relationship with each other, the children benefit,” Foster said.
“That’s why we want them to get along. When they have both parents in their lives, and they’re in a healthy relationship, children are less likely to become victims of sexual or physical abuse, have fewer behavior problems and are less likely to commit suicide. But you need a healthy environment for children to grow up in.”
EFF programs are intended for pregnant women and couples who have children age 3 months and younger.
Three-week workshops offered at no cost in the morning and evening include how to set up a budget, parenting skills, sustaining a loving relationship, conflict resolution, earning a general equivalency diploma, effective resume writing and job-hiring techniques.
Free transportation and child care are provided during class time as well as meals beforehand.
An added incentive includes a $60 Meijer gift card upon completion of the program.
Workshops for Northeast Side residents are held at D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s; classes for those living on the Southeast Side are taught at the United Methodist Community House. On the Southwest Side, classes taught in Spanish take place at the South End Community Outreach Ministries.
For more information, call the Encouraging Family Foundations through the Child and Family Resource Council at 454-4673.
E-mail the author of this story: yourlife@grpress.com

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