Clermont County gives out resource bags for grandparents raising grandchildren

Описание: BATAVIA, Ohio -- Several agencies in Clermont County have banded together to make sure that grandparents and others raising the children of family members have some resources to help them.

A subcommittee of the Clermont Co. Opiate Task Force put together kinship care resource bags. They include several books with information about resources that can provide assistance and information about dealing with a family member who is addicted. According to the Ohio Dept. of Aging, 100,000 grandparents are raising their grandchildren in Ohio. The number has increased because of the opioid epidemic, according to state and government officials.



"The first thing that I think is really important in this bag is the Ohio Resource Guide for Relatives Caring For Children," said Angie Livesay of Clermont Co. Juvenile Court. "There's are a lot of books about resilience. We know that kids are really impacted when they're placed out of the home."



Livesay said one book includes activities that a caregiver can do with a child he or she is raising in order to build resiliency and learn healthy coping mechanisms.



"There's are a lot of books about resilience. We know that kids are really impacted when they're placed out of home," Livesay said.



Livesay said Clermont County has seen an increase in the number of grandparents raising their grandchildren because of the opioid epidemic. However, the number is hard to track throughout the county because not every family is in the system. She believes there could be more grandparents and other family members raising children of addicts then officials realize.



"I think within all of our agencies we can all think of many families off the top of our heads where we know this is happening. I know teachers can recognize that this is happening," Livesay said.



Grant money paid for the items in the kits which include toys for small children. Tyra Scherer, an Injury Prevention Coordinator with Clermont Co. Public Health said she gave a woman she knows one of the kits and it brought her to tears. Scherer said the situation grandparents and grandchildren are thrust into can be traumatic.



"No matter who you are, it's rough," Scherer said. Tyra Scherer: "The feedback has been that they're very thankful for these resources and the information that they didn't have before."



The bags are only available to people who live in Clermont County.



"I think this will open some doors for people that aren't getting any services that maybe could benefit from them so I'm really excited about this project. Especially in the holidays," Livesay said.



Several agencies have resource bags:



Beech Acres

Child Focus

Clermont County Children's Protective Services

Clermont County Developmental Disabilities/Help Me Grow

Clermont County Public Health/WIC

Family & Children First

Positive Leaps

Pressley Ridge

Reach for Tomorrow

YMCA

YWCA