This national non-profit has a local chapter in Brevard. Its role is to support adoptive, foster and kinship families. Foster and kinship parents (most often grandparents) are on the front line of child welfare caring for neglected and abused children. These children are often left with both physical and emotional scars from childhood trauma. These are often expressed in challenging behaviors and learning challenges, which are exacerbated by a change in routines, loss of structure, and increased in stress in their lives and families. Children in foster and kinship care in Transylvania County are likely to have been exposed to alcohol and drugs prenatally with resulting behavioral and educational issues. Through Creating a Family programing these valued foster and kinship families and the children in their care receive counseling and guidance.
In 2020 Creating a Family received a grant from Lake Toxaway Charities to create and distribute Grandparents Raising Grandkids Resource Kits to grandparent-led families in Transylvania County. The 2021 grant is the next step in the process of supporting these vulnerable families.
The Grandparents Raising Grandkids Resource Kits were the first step in reaching these families by cataloging the local resources that will help these families thrive and creating a Distribution Network of stakeholders to help get this information into the hands of struggling families. The next step is understanding additional needs, identifying missing services, spurring collaboration, and raising awareness throughout the community of the importance of grandparents raising grandkids and this population’s needs.
The 2021 Grant will help accomplish the following three goals: understanding the needs of grandparent-led families in Transylvania County, organizing the stakeholders that work with these families to collaborate on meeting these needs, and raising awareness in the greater community of the importance and needs of grandparent-led families.
All of us have a stake in the stability of these families and Lake Toxaway Charities is pleased to partner with Creating a Family to support adoptive, foster and kinship families in Transylvania County.
For additional information, please contact www.CreatingAFamily.org. or Cecily Timmons, Development Director, at Cecily@creatinngafamily.org.
