Grandparents as Parents of Southeastern Indiana is a new group formed by grandparents and for grandparents. The group is open to anyone who is providing kinship care, but the focus will be on the special challenges faced by grandparents who are parenting for the second time. The meetings will be held beginning August 15th, 2014 on the 1st and 3rd Friday evenings of the month at the Decatur County
Family YMCA. The meetings will begin at 6:30 pm and end at 8:30 pm. A Christmas party and a summer picnic/carnival are also being planned. The Decatur County Family YMCA is offering us free use of gym space for the kids to play during the meeting. There is also a playroom available for children aged three and under. Local youth organizations will be providing supervision. This playtime will provide a unique opportunity for your child to interact with other children in the same situation. While each situation is certainly different, these meetings will enable the grandparents to talk to others in similar situations, vent feelings that cannot be shared around the kids, help others (and be helped) with unique, new, or perplexing issues. Beginning in September 2014, local experts will come in and briefly speak – and then answer questions – on various topics such as narcotics use, legal issues, taxes, grieving process, nutrition, federal/state/local resources, domestic violence, learning disabilities, etc. There is no charge to be part of this group, nor for the meetings or childcare.
