Club learns about Family Support Center
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Tammie Rizzio, executive co-director of Youth Health Service, Inc., (YHS) and Hannah Myers, director of the Randolph County Family Support Center (FSC), addressed the Rotary Club of Elkins. The Family Support Center is a Youth Health Service program that is made possible with funding from the West Virginia Department of Human Services Bureau for Family Assistance.
YHS was established in 1978 as a program of Memorial General Hospital and became its own agency in 1986. Since that time, YHS has been independently providing services to the communities of Randolph County and beyond. The agency's behavior health programs currently serve six counties across northcentral West Virginia. At any given time, between 1,000 and 1,200 unique clients are enrolled in that program. They also serve 3- to 18-year-olds as well as young adults through the age of 24 for behavioral health services.
The Home Ties Child Development Center, which was established in 1997, is located at the organization's main location on Harrison Avenue. This center serves infants and children from the age of six weeks through twelve years of age. Children are cared for in age specific classrooms with activities based on that age group's developmental needs.
The Family Support Center was established in 2011 as a grant funded program through the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (now the West Virginia Department of Human Services). It started as a mini grant program but became a fully funded program in 2012.
Myers has served as director of the Family Support Center for approximately one year after having been with YHS for a year and a half. "The Family Support Center just moved into a new location. We outgrew our old location, we're in a bigger space and it means additional programming is coming," said Myers.
The goal of the FSC is to empower the people in Randolph County who are facing difficulties such as food insecurity or need parenting assistance or classes. "We want our clients to live healthy and productive lives and if we can be there to help them on their journey, wherever they may be, that's what we're here for," added Myers. The FSC has adopted a 'community not charity' philosophy in order to better connect with those in the community who may need assistance.
The FSC operates within a defined set of objectives - family functioning and resiliency, social and emotion support, concrete support in times of need, child development, knowledgeable parenting, and nurturing and attachment.
Mobility Mentoring is a key program that is offered by Myers. This program entails six, one-on-one monthly sessions with the client that provides a check-in to evaluate the progress the client is making towards the goals that were established in the initial meeting with Myers. "The whole point of this program is to get our clients in a place where we know they'll be OK if something should happen and we lose our funding and can't operate," said Myers. Following the monthly check-in, the clients can then access concrete support such as food, hygiene or baby items that are provided by the center.
Parenting Education and Support is another program offered at the FSC. Myers is certified by the University of Queensland to teach Triple P Parenting, an accredited program that is taught world-wide. The program Myers teaches is targeted toward older kids who may be struggling with behavior issues. It focuses on parent resiliency and consistency in managing those behaviors. Another FSC staff member is certified to teach the Family Transitions component of the program which is designed for co-parenting and helping parents going through divorce or separation learn how to work together to raise their children in a healthy environment.
Life skills classes are offered to students who are 17-18 years of age. Myers taught the class to a group of 22 students at Youth Build and hopes to bring the program to Elkins High School. Classes cover topics focused on assisting young people be prepared for the transition into adulthood and cover topics such as goal setting for success, effective communication, managing stress, decision-making and risk, managing time and money, and building relationships.
The FSC holds four major family events each year - Trunk or Treat in October, Cookies with Santa in December, Spring Fling in April and Summer Bash in July. These family-friendly events are free and open to anyone in the community looking for something fun to do with their children. Rizzio elaborated, "community partners such as the United Way, Randolph Tucker Children's Advocacy Center, Randolph County FRN, and Birth to Three often join us for these events to spread the word about their services...these events essentially serve as a resource fair for the community."
Concrete support such as the center's food pantry, a household and hygiene pantry and a baby pantry are offered to FSC clients. The pantry services are also being planned to visit outlying areas such as Pickens and Harman, Mill Creek, Huttonsville and Helvetia. "Anything they may be lacking in the way of concrete support goes, odds are I've got it and if not, I can figure out how to get it," said Myers. "We also offer kinship beds. If DoHS calls and says there's a kid going into kinship placement, they don't have a bed wherever the kid is going, we can offer them a bed or a crib."
Myers is working to increase the collaboration with the local Community in Schools partners. "Last year right around Christmas time, I got a call from the Community in Schools partner at the high school, Ashleigh Tenney, about a student who had severe special needs, a severely autistic kid and the family was really struggling at that time to be able to purchase what were his safe foods. Safe foods are critical, not a suggestion. I was able to reach out to members in the community and raise $250 for this family to go out and get this student what he needed," said Myers. "The Community in Schools partners are doing the groundwork in the schools but if they don't have a tether to reach out to, it's a shout into the void. So, my goal for the upcoming year is to work more closely with the Community in Schools partners."
There are no income requirements to receive services through the FSC; the only requirement to receive assistance through the FSC is that there is a child under the age of 18 in the home. "We can't serve anybody who does not have a child in the home with them. If somebody comes to us and they need something, we're not going to turn them away. We're either going to serve them and then help them find the resources they need or we're going to help them find those resources. That's just who we are, that's what we do. If you know of a family who needs something, give Hannah [Myers] a call, connect them with Hannah. If she can't meet the need, she will work with them to figure out who can meet that need for them," concluded Rizzio.
Family Support Centers across the state of WV are funded through the Department of Human Services Bureau for Family Assistance. The majority of the funding allocated for FSCs is allocated through the state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) fund and as such all programming and services offered through the centers align with TANF purposes aimed at strengthening WV families. While all FSCs have the shared goal of helping families grow through strengthening parenting skills, connecting families with local resources, building social support and promoting stable, healthy relationships, each center achieves this through meeting their community's specific needs.
The Randolph County Family Support Center will be holding an Open House on August 21 from 2pm to 6pm at its new location at 90 Vance Drive in the Big Lots plaza between O'Reilly Auto Parts and Elkins Fordland.
More information about Youth Health Service, Inc. and the Family Support Center can be found at https://www.youth-health.org/ or by calling 304.636.9450. The Family Support Center can be reached directly at 304-591-4052 Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.
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