Winter 2009 Volume 6, Number 1

It Takes a Village...First the Seed, Then the Harvest
 

Kathleen A. McAleenan, M.S.W.,  LCSW
Outreach Social Worker II
Cardinal Ritter Senior Service
(314) 961-8000 ext. 302
kmcaleenan@ccstl.org
 

The seeds. In the beginning there were seed monies. Starting in 2001, the first monies to facilitate the formation of support groups for grandparents raising grandchildren were sought and obtained by Cardinal Ritter Senior Services (CRSS) from the Brookdale Foundation. Two groups, Keepers of the Flame and Proud Grandparents, met monthly to provide socialization and support to senior adults who were just starting or in the middle of the journey of raising grandchildren and those who had raised their grandchildren. In early 2003, the Chiara Corporation provided funding which enabled CRSS to help the groups celebrate members birthdays and special events like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Down the road, in 2004, additional seed monies were received from a private fund, the Lence Charitable Fund, Inc., which further enabled CRSS to provide refreshments for the group meetings, assist with transportation expenses, and cover the costs of an annual picnic for the grandparents and their grandchildren.

Along the way, CRSS collaborated with and joined the Gateway Grandparents Network, now known as the Gateway Grandparents Kinship Network, which reaches out to larger numbers of grandparents and relatives who are raising relative children. Their outreach efforts include newsletters, informational forums, and an annual picnic for these non-traditional families. The next gap that needed to be addressed was how CRSS could assist when a grandparent did not fit community qualifiers or there was not an agency resource for a problem, like the phone being disconnected. A CRSS social worker developed the idea and initiated a new program through the generosity of a local insurance group (who prefers to remain anonymous) and began a Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) Direct Fund. This fund is only used for assistance that no agency presently provides, therefore avoiding duplication of community resource efforts. I am happy to add that this past October, the Gateway Grandparents Kinship Network made a donation to our existing RAPP Direct Fund through a grant awarded by the Brookdale Foundation.

The harvest. For the last four years, Jinnie E. has been attending our south side St. Louis Keepers of the Flame monthly group at 5 Star Senior Center Jinnie is a 68 year old great-grandma who has been raising her 6 year old great granddaughter, Faith, since she was just a few months old. Faith’s mom left and her father has never been a part of this child’s life.

Jinnie is challenged by the many financial and emotional stressors of raising Faith but never quits. She also has multiple health issues of diabetes, dislocated disc, heart disease, arthritis, and high blood pressure, yet, she never ever quits. Not only does Jinnie continue to provide ongoing love and care for her great granddaughter and daily attention to her own health issues, she has just completed an adult’s Earn-A Computer Program through Byte Works Computers.

Each Saturday for the last couple of months, she and Faith would ride on two buses to attend this program. Jinnie said, “I just want to learn.” After successfully completing this program, she received a desk top computer complete with a Microsoft operating system. Once she earned this, guess what came next? Well, now Jinnie is enrolled to complete her GED. She says “I want more education to help out Faith and be a role model.” She has brought this excitement to the south side Keepers of the Flame group and now has inspired another grandparent raising their grandchild to enroll. Never quit – that’s Jinnie.