Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program assists area families
Posted By Brandon Reid On August 3, 2011 @ 6:56 am In Local News, News | No Comments
[1]Lifescape caseworkers Markesha Brown (from left), Jill Smith and Alberto Carrion with some of the items bought for the families in the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program. (Photo provided)
Staff Report
Thirteen Rockford-area families are looking at summer a little easier thanks to extra funds in the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) Program administered through Lifescape Community Services.
Program Services Director Cheryl Davis said an additional $5,500 was used to buy children’s clothing, bedroom furniture, kitchen appliances and air conditioners. The money was released through the Northwest Illinois Area Agency on Aging (NIAAA).
Davis and caseworker Markesha Brown took several families shopping recently for the necessary items. Brown said the trip was eye-opening for one child.
“She had never been to a retail store before, much less the mall,” said Brown. “She said they had only gone to Goodwill before.”
The program is designed to help those grandparents or other relatives who are raising other family members’ children. Oftentimes, the parents are incarcerated or otherwise unable to care for their children, so the responsibility falls on other members of the family.
Sixty-eight families are actively involved in the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program through Lifescape. Along with financial and material aid, families are also included in support groups to help them better handle the stresses of raising younger children.
More information about the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program can be found at www.lifescapeservices.org [2], or by calling Cheryl Davis at (815) 963-1609.
From the Aug. 3-9, 2011, issue
Article printed from The Rock River Times: http://rockrivertimes.com
URL to article: http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/08/03/grandparents-raising-grandchildren-program-assists-area-families-2/
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[2] www.lifescapeservices.org: http://www.lifescapeservices.org
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