Support Groups Give Back to Grandparents
By: By the AARP Foundation | Source: AARP.org | Date Posted: June 2008
Find a Support Group:
- AARP Foundation Grandparent Support Locator
- Brookdale Foundation Group Relatives-as-Parents Program (RAPP)
- Grand Fact Sheets
Information About Grandfamilies and How to Start Support Groups:
- The American Self-Help-Group Clearinghouse
- American Bar Association Kinship Care Legal Research Center
- Angel Tree
- Casey Family Program
- Casey Family Services/The Annie E. Casey Foundation
- The Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents
- Children's Defense Fund
- Child Welfare League of America
- USDA Extension Offices
- Generations United
- Georgia State University's National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
- Grandfamilies of America
- National Committee of Grandparents for Children's Rights
The number of grandparents becoming primary caregivers for their grandchildren is rising. Already struggling to make ends meet, the grandparents take on a new financial burden that becomes almost too great to bear. Parenting one's grandchildren is a growing trend, but fortunately, so is the evolution of support networks for grandparent-caregivers.
Caring for grandchildren can be overwhelming. Grandparent-caregivers report a variety of stress-related illnesses, including depression, diabetes, and high blood pressure. To make things worse, some grandparents also have trouble getting the health care they need. Getting financial help, public benefits, legal support, and safe housing can be difficult.
For many grandparents, help arrives in the form of support groups for grandparents and other relative-caregivers. These groups help grandfamilies cope by offering friendship, practical help, and resources that link grandparents to local, state, and federal programs.
Although support networks are a growing trend, more are needed. Grace Brown of Providence, R.I., has been a member of the support group Grand Divas for three years, now serving as its vice president. Brown reported that membership has doubled as word has spread of the services Grand Divas offers. "We seem to be doing things that are meaningful," she observed. "I know there's a great deal of interest in this kind of thing. When I've been in other cities, other grandmothers say they wish they had something like it."
In Los Angeles, California, Kinship in Action brings together grandparents as well as other relatives caring for children of kin. Debra Lee, who is raising two teenaged grandchildren, has spoken out at state and national rallies. "Legislators need to learn firsthand the critical role grandparents…play in the lives of our children," she asserted.
And in New Haven, Conn., Grandparents on the Move (GOM) has become a strong, unified voice for support and change. In addition to its support group, GOM sees a lack of accessible information about probate court and local services. Filling this need, GOM spearheaded the production of a resource guide for grandparent-caregivers. "I didn't expect that I'd have to be doing this. Having this support group is very helpful," said Lettie Downs of New Haven. "I keep the schedule on my refrigerator."
When Diane DiDonato, 60, took in her two-year-old granddaughter two years ago, she knew she needed help. "I felt very isolated," she recalled. "All my friends were in very different situations, and we grew apart."
DiDonato founded the Grand Divas, a growing network of dynamic grandmothers in Providence, R.I. "Now the day with the Divas is my day—don't bother me. We exercise, have fun and good food….and by helping one another, we help ourselves," she said. "I was even able to find counseling for my granddaughter. There is nothing else like this in the state of Rhode Island."
Supportive services, including the Grand Divas and other caregiver-support groups, help families cope. More such groups are needed. The National Family Caregiver Support Program was enacted in 2000 as part of the Older Americans Act to allow for all area agencies on aging and local community service providers to offer services, including support groups. These services may not be widely available, however, because only 10 percent of the funds may be used for grandparent support. All of those funds must be directed to programs that help grandparents age 60 and above, which leaves out younger grandparents—and 71 percent of all grandparent-caregivers are under the age of 60 (U.S. Census 2000).
This is a reality that has made locally formed groups all the more critical. In the last three years that she's been a member of the Grand Divas, their vice president, Grace Brown, reported that she has seen rapid growth as the word has spread—and membership has doubled. "We seem to be doing things that are meaningful," she added. "I know that there's a great deal of interest in this kind of thing. When I've been in other cities, other grandmothers have said that they wish they had something like it. And to that, I say: ‘Start it!'"
DiDonato said it would be easy to start a grandparent-caregiver support group like this. Just start small, she suggested, and have a couple of people come to your house. Being associated with an agency like Casey Family Services, the direct service agency of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has been a help, too, she noted, saying, "And there are good agencies everywhere."
Caring for grandchildren can be overwhelming. Grandparent-caregivers report a variety of stress-related illnesses, including depression, diabetes, and high blood pressure. To make things worse, some grandparents also have trouble getting the health care they need. Getting financial help, public benefits, legal support, and safe housing can be difficult.
For many grandparents, help arrives in the form of support groups for grandparents and other relative-caregivers. These groups help grandfamilies cope by offering friendship, practical help, and resources that link grandparents to local, state, and federal programs.
Although support networks are a growing trend, more are needed. Grace Brown of Providence, R.I., has been a member of the support group Grand Divas for three years, now serving as its vice president. Brown reported that membership has doubled as word has spread of the services Grand Divas offers. "We seem to be doing things that are meaningful," she observed. "I know there's a great deal of interest in this kind of thing. When I've been in other cities, other grandmothers say they wish they had something like it."
In Los Angeles, California, Kinship in Action brings together grandparents as well as other relatives caring for children of kin. Debra Lee, who is raising two teenaged grandchildren, has spoken out at state and national rallies. "Legislators need to learn firsthand the critical role grandparents…play in the lives of our children," she asserted.
And in New Haven, Conn., Grandparents on the Move (GOM) has become a strong, unified voice for support and change. In addition to its support group, GOM sees a lack of accessible information about probate court and local services. Filling this need, GOM spearheaded the production of a resource guide for grandparent-caregivers. "I didn't expect that I'd have to be doing this. Having this support group is very helpful," said Lettie Downs of New Haven. "I keep the schedule on my refrigerator."
When Diane DiDonato, 60, took in her two-year-old granddaughter two years ago, she knew she needed help. "I felt very isolated," she recalled. "All my friends were in very different situations, and we grew apart."
DiDonato founded the Grand Divas, a growing network of dynamic grandmothers in Providence, R.I. "Now the day with the Divas is my day—don't bother me. We exercise, have fun and good food….and by helping one another, we help ourselves," she said. "I was even able to find counseling for my granddaughter. There is nothing else like this in the state of Rhode Island."
Supportive services, including the Grand Divas and other caregiver-support groups, help families cope. More such groups are needed. The National Family Caregiver Support Program was enacted in 2000 as part of the Older Americans Act to allow for all area agencies on aging and local community service providers to offer services, including support groups. These services may not be widely available, however, because only 10 percent of the funds may be used for grandparent support. All of those funds must be directed to programs that help grandparents age 60 and above, which leaves out younger grandparents—and 71 percent of all grandparent-caregivers are under the age of 60 (U.S. Census 2000).
This is a reality that has made locally formed groups all the more critical. In the last three years that she's been a member of the Grand Divas, their vice president, Grace Brown, reported that she has seen rapid growth as the word has spread—and membership has doubled. "We seem to be doing things that are meaningful," she added. "I know that there's a great deal of interest in this kind of thing. When I've been in other cities, other grandmothers have said that they wish they had something like it. And to that, I say: ‘Start it!'"
DiDonato said it would be easy to start a grandparent-caregiver support group like this. Just start small, she suggested, and have a couple of people come to your house. Being associated with an agency like Casey Family Services, the direct service agency of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has been a help, too, she noted, saying, "And there are good agencies everywhere."
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