The early years of parenting can be exhausting, and for low-income families or immigrants, the challenge may be even greater. That’s why a group called Child Health Partnership sends a small army of support personnel to families in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa and Fluvanna Counties.
“It’s a small team, but it’s a mighty team. We’ve got 23 staff members – family support specialists and registered nurses," says fundraiser Hilary Bryan. "We do home visiting, and we’re really able to help them navigate these different systems that they might not be accustomed to: hospitals, medical care, medical insurance, even our school system.”
Bryan says the group offers a range of social services.
“We can provide child development and positive parenting education and support including nutrition, self-care, fetal development. We do developmental screenings, and we have added mental health services," Bryan says.
This month, she helped launch something called the One Tired Mother Club – a way for moms to treat themselves and help others manage stress. For a subscription costing $20 a month, they’ll get a variety of resources, activities, book recommendations and self-care suggestions.
“We also give out four curated gift boxes throughout the year. When you go to purchase that subscription, it allows you to gift it to somebody else, to have it sent to yourself or to send it on to a family that we service," Bryan explains. "For the first month we are doing self-care journals, decals, pens. In December we’ll be doing candles and coffee. In the spring we’ll be doing tote-bag, key chains, things to kind of get ready for the summer season.”
Over 35 years, the group has helped 3,600 families and over 5,000 children.
For more information go to:
www.childhealthpartnership.org
