Connecting Families to Concrete Support in the Community
All families need help at some point. Sometimes it is emotional support that is needed and can be given by a friend with a listening ear. Or, maybe a family is short in covering their monthly housing, child care, food and transportation expenses and in need of more concrete support to get through that stressful period.
The Strengthening Families framework, which is built around Five Protective Factors that work together, help families better understand their strengths and supplies tools and resources to help parents provide a healthy, safe and nurturing environment that enables their family to thrive. In a prior article we discussed Parent Resilience, which is the ability to bounce back from difficult experiences and even be strengthened by them so that they can better handle future challenges. Concrete Support in Times of Need is one of the five Protective Factors that focuses on helping families find and access supports and services that help to reduce stress.
Why don’t more families take advantage of a community’s support services?
Families may not have the skills to identify their needs. For families in crisis, they may be too overburdened or have never developed the tools needed to figure out what supports they require during stressful times.
Families are unaware of support services, including mental health, housing, child care and others, that are available in their community. Helping connect families to these resources, such as this Strengthening Families Concrete Support in Times of Need Resource List, is only the first step.
Many families are reluctant to seek help. Some families are embarrassed to admit that they need help while other have expressed that they fear judgement from others. Some services, such as mental health clinics, domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters and substance abuse clinics, may have a stigma associated with the services they provide that decrease a person’s willingness to engage them for assistance.
Asking for help is not a weakness or sign of failure. Instead, it is a positive step towards building a stronger family that can better manage stress and weather adversity, and it teaches children to become more resilient as well.
We can help all families by normalizing the need and receipt of help by sharing our own personal experiences as well as offering assistance to families when it is needed. If you are a parent or caregiver in need of concrete support, Strengthening Families Georgia has a list of resources here.
For assistance during the Thanksgiving and winter holidays, see our list of resources in this Georgia Parent Power article, “8 Tips To Help Focus on the “THANKS” in Thanksgiving This Year.”
You can learn more about the Five Protective Factors and find tips, strategies and tools at QCC’s Strengthening Families website to help provide a strong and loving family environment for your children.
