One thing we know for sure, children who suffer from abuse or trauma will respond better to treatment if they have support at home. Whether that support comes from parents, guardians or grandparents – children can recover from trauma when the people around them believe them, support them and are a part of the recovery process.
Knowing this, we have been working for some time to develop classes that can help the parents better understand what their child is going through following abuse or trauma. During this 4-week program, the adults learn techniques they can apply daily to their parenting style that will benefit their child and their relationship. They learn what trauma can do to a child’s brain and how it can affect their behavior. They learn how to react to those behaviors in ways they may never have thought of before.
Parents will also learn about self-care so they can not only care for their child, but understand and receive permission to pay attention to their own needs and concerns as well. Finally, we teach trauma parenting tips – things they can put into practice in their daily lives to help them all get over these hurdles together. Classes are 2 hours each, for four weeks in a row on specified Monday evenings from 5-7PM.
We have set up our class schedule for 2019 and are very hopeful that we will have increased parent participation as more people learn about this service. Parents who enroll in our class do not have to have children who have been seen at the CAC. Any parent who is struggling in dealing with a child who has suffered abuse or trauma can take this FREE 4-week class.
We are able to do this great outreach to parents due to a grant from Mosaic Life Care. We are grateful for their interest in the CAC, in their willingness to fund such an important program and their desire to see families prosper in our community. Those funds allow us to provide quality educators for these classes, transportation for families that otherwise might not be able to get to our facility, supplies for the classes, and other expenses.
Speaking of our facility, we are very grateful to now be able to hold these classes in our own “home” at 1807 North Woodbine Road. In 2018, we were able to add a conference room where we can host such classes. This was accomplished in part through some funds received through the United Way of Greater St. Joseph. This conference room is essential for us to host these classes as well as other types of conferences, meetings and trainings. Thank you to our local United Way chapter and their volunteer committee for seeing that this space is needed for us to educate and support the families we serve.
If you or someone you know might benefit from these classes, contact us at 816-232-1744, or go to our About Us page and contact Melissa or Sarah. To access our training schedule, click here.
