Children's Advocacy Center Celebrates Parent Leadership Month

Parenting is hard, but no one has to face it alone. The Children’s Advocacy Center of Tom Green County is here to help families in need. The Family Enrichment Services offered in San Angelo extend a hand to families who could use some help with day-to-day struggles, and many parents help in this process as leaders.

Belinda Braly, director of Family Services, said parents, overall, play a major role in the program. 

“We want more parents involved in the training to become parent leaders,” Braly said. 

The director explained that there are two parent leaders as of now, and CAC officials have high hopes of increasing that number. Parent leaders are people who volunteer their time to help families who reach out for help. They point them in the right direction for help and give advice to people who are having issues.

Adrianne Valles, a parent leader at the Children’s Advocacy Center, stated, “Children not listening could be big stressor for working parents or a single parent doing it on there own, so asking for help could result in fewer problems at home.”

This is what the people at the Children’s Advocacy Center want to help with, and they feel parent leaders give families that empathy they need because they can relate. 

Parent leaders assist in many of the CAC programs offered, including the Parent Mentor Program, Parents Anonymous, Family Preservation Program, The Parent Project, the Concho Valley Family Alliance, and many more. These are all programs that help the bond grow between children and their parents or caregivers, and help make every day life easier and less stressful.

The Parent Project offers concrete and efficient solutions for parents of children who are 13 years of age to 17 years of age. This program helps parents learn how to address at risk behavior, for example teen drug use, running away, and gang violence. There are meetings held at the Children’s Advocacy Center on Thursday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. These meetings are in place to set up a step-by-step action plan to make progress toward preventing and intervening in a child’s negative behavior and choices.

Parents Anonymous are support groups held on Thursday nights as well at the Children’s Advocacy Center in town. These groups are co-led by trained facilitators and parent leaders who offer parents a safe space to discuss their situations with encouragement of other caregivers experiencing similar issues. By engaging in conversations with these parent leaders and facilitators, parents are able to take more strategies that could possibly help with issues in the home.

Valles said, “I reach out to parents and families to tell them about what the CAC has to offer. I am there to suggest resources and support during whatever issues the family is facing.”

As for the Parent Mentor Program, it's for anyone seeking tips on parenting. This is to educate parents on nurturing skills, resource referrals, crisis intervention, and case management services in Tom Green County. This is offered to families with children 0-17 years of age. Once a week, families work with a mentor in their home or the CAC and receive services that are specifically tailored to meet their unique needs.

“This could be from temper tantrums to potty training. It is not all extreme cases,” Braly added. This is a program that is in tact to help families with issues from smaller to larger issues.

Parent Leaders are the people we are celebrating this month because of the time they volunteer to help other families in their communities. Parent Leadership is a huge part of these programs. The few parent leaders the CAC has helps the families.

Valles said, "I feel as if I am paying it forward. I know how stressful it can be when dealing with things on your own, and being a parent leader, I get to help where it is needed." Overall, many parents want to continue to help with the programs, but more volunteers are always needed. 

Concho Valley Family Alliance (CVFA) is a partnership with parents, agencies, business leaders, and other community residents committed to building a unified community that strengthens families. Members discuss the needs of the community as it relates to families and children, and plan ways to meet those needs through development or modification of services, community initiatives and policy changes.

All of these services provided by the Children’s Advocacy Center are free. There are people out there in you community who want to help. The number to call is (325)653-4673, or families can go online to www.cactomgreen.org. The CAC is located at 317 Koberlin in San Angelo.