Support and Services for Relatives as Parent Caregivers & At Risk Children
At GRANDPARENTS ADVOCATING SUPPORT PROGRAM or "GASP", our goal is to help our clients achieve the best quality of life possible. We understand that one solution does not fit every situation so we take the time to listen and learn about each client's needs and preferences.
GASP has been an all volunteer organization since 1997 in Niagara County and has just recently moved into Northern Erie County to offer support to grandparents (and other relatives) raising a child (niece, nephew, sibling, cousin) in lieu of placing the child into the formal foster care system. Grandparents and other relatives are providing services unselfishly to children throughout WNY and the United States with very little assistance in return as child care providers do in the foster care system.
Most caregivers have taken in a child of a relative due to the natural parent has abandoned the child (ren), parent has a mental or medical illness, teenage pregnancy, incarceration of the parent, substance abuse, family violence, child abuse or neglect, parent has lost his/her job, or death. Caregivers faced with raising a grandchild experience ambivalent feelings. They become concerned about the welfare of their own child or sibling (the natural parent) as well as their grandchild. They also have to deal with the reality that taking on the responsibility of caring for a child will turn their lives topsy-turvy.
Most caregivers are over the age of 50 and are single females. Most have retired and are living on limited incomes of a small pension and Social Security. Most will reenter the job market to meet the needs of their new families. Over fifty percent of caregivers are still in the work force and twenty percent of those are living below the poverty line. Half of the children being cared for are under the age of 6.
These head of household "parents" need time to meet their children's needs and to meet their own physical, mental, and spiritual needs. Caregivers need time to decompress as regular parents do. GASP helps caregivers by providing bi-monthly or monthly support group meetings at local senior centers in Niagara and most recently Northern Erie Counties. According to the US Census, caregivers are not alone or in unique situations. There are 2,220 grandparents are raising grandchildren in Erie County. There are no clear numbers for Niagara County but their are 8,000 children living outside of the parent head of household family.
GASP helps individuals and our community by supplying these services:
- Support group meetings to be an a liaison to community services and benefits;
- Supervised Visitations and Safe Exchange Programs;
- Assistance with Holidays and Back to School programs;
- Parenting Classes;
- Companionship to legal and court appointments;
- Respite Programs;
- Kilth and Kin Care Training (families providing day care at home without licensure);
- Juvenile Justice;
- And much more.
