Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Circle to start again this fall

The Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Circle was developed to meet the needs of Grandparents who have physical custody of their grandchildren. This situation is becoming more common here in Akwesasne and Mohawk Council of Akwesasne’s Wholistic Health and Wellness program within their Department of Health has been working to help meet the needs of these grandparents. This group meets once per month at the Tsi Tetewatatkens – Office for the Aging facility on the second Thursday of the month. The group took a break during the summer months but will be back beginning tonight from 5:00pm-7:00pm.

“We saw this group of people who had a need for supporting community totas who take on the parenting role again,” said Support Circle organizer Kanietahawi Sharrow. “These are grandparents who need support meeting the financial, emotional and every other need that comes with raising their grandchildren.”

Many of the families in these situations are dealing with parents of children who have issues with drug abuse, or are irresponsible and are not ready to step up and take care of their children. The important part is making sure that everyone participating with this group is aware that they are not alone in this situation. They have a chance to speak with their peers in similar situations to find ways to cope with the new situation. All participants are required to sign a confidentiality agreement before they participate in the support circle to add that bit of security in sharing their troubles.

“This is great because the grandparents are often tired and do have their own health problems, or financial problems and they can all share amongst themselves ways to cope and best practices,” said another Support Circle organizer Leona Barnes. “We even offer child care for the time that the support circle is meeting, not just watching them but we do the babes puppet program to teach self-esteem, drug and alcohol abuse prevention, and other life skills.”

There are other issues related to raising their grandchildren and it can also stem from the grandchildren having emotional problems, learning disabilities; or the grandparent having financial and legal troubles – many do not realize that they do have to obtain legal custody of their grandchildren. This support circle is a great opportunity for networking of existing services in the community and for each participant to share the ones that really helped them in different situations.

“When these grandparents hear from their peers it helps to bring a form of understanding of the circumstance that they are in,” said Sharrow. “This is a different level of peer support that our individual counseling cannot provide.”

Typically the program organizers would prefer to have interested participants contact them before the monthly meeting. This month is open for anyone interested in learning more about the support circle and if they can’t make it this month both Sharrow and Barnes can answer any of your questions during working hours. They can be contacted at Kanonhkwatsheriio 613-575-2341 Ext. 3102.