All meetings are open to the public, no need to be involved with any agency, court, or particular situation. If you are raising any relative child (grandchild, niece, nephew, sibling, or other relative) please consider attending. There will be fellowship, relevant local speakers, and resources galore. This program is completely free!!
Upcoming Events:
All regular meetings are from 6:45pm-8pm at LIFT 7197 Nashville St. Ringgold, GA 30736 Friday January 28th 2002 Regular Meeting Friday February 25th 2002 Regular Meeting Friday March 25th 2022 Regular Meeting April-Field trip for Regular Members to be announced Friday May 27th 2022 Regular Meeting Friday June 24th 2022 Regular Meeting Friday July 29th 2022 Regular Meeting Friday August 26th 2022 Regular Meeting September-Field trip for Regular Members date to be announced October-Field trip for Regular Members date to be announced Friday November 18th 2022 Regular Meeting December-Respite party for Regular Members date to be announced *Regular Members are those that have attended at least 2 Regular Meetings *Also for Regular Members, school supplies will be provided for the children at or around the July Regular Meeting.
Over 3 million children are being raised by relatives in America today. Children can be raised by relatives for a number of reasons including death of a parent, incarceration of a parent, incapacity of parents to care for a child, child protective services involvement, other safety concerns, or child abandonment. When relatives step in to raise a child who would otherwise become part of the foster care system, children are able to maintain their place in their families and often in their same communities and schools. Often times relative caregivers are grandparents that may be on a fixed income, in poor health, or have had other plans for how they would spend their retirement years, but find themselves raising their grandchildren and essentially becoming parents all over again. Any relative that becomes the primary caregiver for a child will have a lot of new responsibilities and changes in their lives. The goal of the Relative Caregiver Support Program is to provide resources, connections, support, and fellowship to those who are undertaking this very important role in a child's life.
This program is open to all relative caregivers in our four county area: Walker, Catoosa, Chattooga, and Dade Counties. It is for Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, or any other relative who is raising a related child. There are once per month group support meetings where group members can meet over a meal to support one another, vent, compare notes, obtain resources, and learn about things such as child nutrition, available financial assistance, budgeting, parenting skills, and more. There will be limited financial support available for items such as school supplies and sport registration fees to some participating group members. A schedule will be posted on this page and on our Facebook page as meetings and events are scheduled. Please email afeely.fourpoints@yahoo.com or call 423-385-4798 for more information or to sign up. The Program is completely free and some childcare is available during meetings.