Kinship Connection - Spring 2020

Spring 2020 Biltmore Church of Christ Food Pantry 823 Fairview Street Asheville, NC 28803 (828) 274-2829 A number of Buncombe County families receive help from this food bank every year.

Asheville Area Food Pantries A number of Asheville area churches, pantries, charities and food banks offer help to the needy as well as low income in the region. There are a number of food pantries near you that operate across Buncombe County North Carolina, and thousands of local individuals turn to them every year for assistance. The centers offer low cost or free food, meals, groceries, and other assistance, such as clothing, baby supplies, diapers, or other aid.

Calvary Episcopal Church Location - 2840 Hendersonville Road, Fletcher, North Carolina 28732 (828) 684-6266 Free food, groceries, meals, and more.

Open limited hours, and groceries are only distributed at certain times.

Foster Seventh Day Adventist Church Community Services Food Pantry/Clothing Closet 375 Hendersonville Road Asheville, NC 28803 (828) 274-2014 Both clothing and free food is offered to the low income, needy, children, and others in the community. Can be work clothes, or items for school aged children as well. There may also be pasta, sauce, cereal, and other nonperishable grocery supplies.

Victory Fellowship Worship Center Food pantry 450 Aiken Rd. Asheville, North Carolina 28804 (828) 243-3088 Call for vegetables, breads, boxed foods, and other commodities.

Salvation Army - Buncombe Co. 204 Haywood Street Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 253-4723 The social service organization has both a Food Pantry and Clothing Closet. In addition, apply for rent help, energy assistance, and get referrals and other support. There are also holiday assistance programs, including free Thanksgiving turkeys, Christmas and Easter meals, and even toys for kids in Buncombe County

Manna Food Bank 627 Swannanoa River Rd. Asheville, NC 28805 (828) 299-3663 Member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hungerrelief organization, MANNA serves communities across 16 counties of Western North Carolina, providing food with hope and dignity to people experiencing hunger in our 6,434 square mile region.

Who is Bair & What is Kinship?

Bair’s Asheville Location at Garfield Street

Kinship

T

he Bair Foundation is a child and family ministry with over 50 years of experience in the field of child welfare. Our Asheville office has been providing therapeutic foster care to local abused and neglected youth for the past four years.

We recruit and retain quality homes in Asheville and the surrounding areas that are able to provide structure, stability, safety, and love to children in the foster care system. The Bair Foundation actively recruits teen homes and families who are willing to take sibling groups, as that is where the need is greatest. The objective of our ministry is to strengthen families and ultimately provide permanency for these children, either through returning home, foster-to-adopt, legal guardianship, or kinship care.

Kinship Care is a program designed to help support a child who resides outside of his or her own home, either temporarily or for the long term, with a relative, godparents, stepparents or any adult who has a “kinship bond” with a child. Kinship Care is an option that allows a child to grow into adulthood in a familiar family environment instead of being placed in foster care.

THANK YOU Kinship families for providing transitional care for your “kin” while their biological parents complete the steps necessary so their children can return home.

Questions?

Valarie Murphy-Taylor, Kinship Coordinator The Bair Foundation 30 Garfield St., Suite F, Shop D6 Asheville, NC 28803 (828) 350-5197 (877) 213-0723 toll free (828) 350- 5199 fax email: vmurphytaylor@bair.org Buncombe County Dept. of Social Services 40 Coxe Avenue, PO Box 7408 Asheville, NC 28802 (828) 250-5500 (828) 250-6235 fax If you would like to help/give/hold a donation drive please contact Valarie!

Resources

Grandfamilies Grandfamilies.org is an amazing resource for families taking care of kin.

Resources include laws, publications, and resources.

www.grandfamilies.org

Resource tops include Adoption, Care & Custody, Education, Federal Laws, Financial Assistance, Healthcare, Housing, National Family Caregiver Support Program and Subsidized Guardianship.

Partners of this side include Casey Family Programs, Center on Children & Law and Generations United.

NAMI of WNC www.namiwnc.org

NAMI, the National Alliance of Mental Health, has made its Family to Family program virtual, via Zoom.

The instructors are trained volunteers; the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) has designated this an evidence-based course.

This free program is for families and caregivers of individuals with serious mental illnesses, including depression Families can sign up for the program and anxiety. It is designed to facilitate here: a better understanding of mental https://www.namiwnc.org/support.htm illness, increase coping skills, and empower participants to become better advocates for their family members.

facebook.com/thebairfoundationnc

SUPPORT FOR HELPERS DURING CORONAVIRUS Sometimes, you don’t need to say anything.

Just be there. Just be there beside me.

That’s enough!

Fred Rogers During uncertain times, it Fred Rogers reminds us may be difficult to know what “When we can talk about our to do or to say to children. feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, As Fred Rogers said, it is and less scary.” Let your child your being there that matters know that their feelings are most. “Being there” may look always safe with you, whether different for each caregiver they are feeling worried, angry, and child and it may look sad, or anything at all. different each day. Here are some considerations as you Connect with Others: We care for yourself and children. can still connect with others Remember, you know in a time of social isolation. yourself and the children in Children can talk, sing, dance, your life best. and play with family and Trust Yourself. Fred Rogers believed that what children need is deep and simple – they need an adult who cares for them, accepts them wholly, and gives them space to wonder.

Honor Solitude: Solitude is important for children and their helpers to understand their inner stories and the world around them. For young children, solitude might mean being near a loved one. Older children may seek aloneness in their room or in another part of the house. As an adult, you may also need some time to yourself and that is ok.

Share Feelings: You and your children may have many feelings in response to the coronavirus.

friends on the phone or with an online video tool. Caregivers can also reach out to others to check in, share resources, and encourage one another.

Reach Out. Thinking of creative ways to reach out and give to others may be another way to connect during this time of social isolation. Some families are writing cards to healthcare workers or grocery store employees. Others are sending messages to family and friends that live alone. You and your children can come up with ideas that you can do together.

Early Dental Care for Kids Through Eblen Medical Eblen Medical provides medication, physician visits, eyeglasses, transportation, dental visits and free dental sealants are offered to second graders in our community.

In order to help stem the rising costs of medication, medical supplies and care, Eblen Medical helps provide medical assistance to children, adults, and families living in our community by providing medication, medical supplies, physician visits, and eye glasses.

Families living with the burdens and the effects that illnesses and disabilities so often bring have to face the many challenges and decisions that other families do not. Inspired by these courageous families, Eblen Medical sets out to stand beside them as they take up this most important fight.

If you happen to see a lot of bright and healthy smiles beaming from elementary school children in our community, chances are one reason they are smiling is that they have a lot less cavities thanks to the Eblen Charities Dental Sealant Partnership. The Dental Sealant Program provides a healthier and brighter dental future for many children whose family may not have

been able to afford to provide the sealants themselves.

The program commences each fall as second graders in Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools are screened to ensure that their teeth are ready for sealants and then the Sealant Clinic is held every Friday through the end of May, at no cost to the children, their families or the schools. Through this innovative partnership, thousands of children take their first steps to a life of dental health thanks to this unique community outreach.

“The Eblen Sealant Partnership has become an important and anticipated program that is a vital and remarkable part of our community,” states Orthodontist Dr. Keith Black, Eblen board member and founder of the sealant partnership. “Eblen Charities has developed a number of dental programs and partnerships along with the Buncombe County Dental Society to assist children with emergency dental needs. So much of dental health is about prevention and avoiding decay that can lead to more serious problems. The sealant program helps provide that prevention.” https://www.eblencharities.org

Children First: Communities in Schools - Buncombe County For more than 20 years, the Family Resource Center at Emma has been a hub for the families in the community. Each year, more than 300 families access resources through a food pantry, clothing closet, SNAP applications, emergency financial assistance, community referrals, and parent workshops.

The Family Resource Center is located behind Emma Elementary at 37 Brickyard Road, Asheville, NC 28806.

Hours are typically Tuesday and Thursday from 9-12 and Wednesday from 9-6. The Family Resource Center at Emma follows Erwin District schedule for closings and delays.

PO Box 16695, Asheville, NC 28816 37 Brickyard Rd, Asheville, NC 28806 828-259-9717 info@childrenfirstbc.org

https://childrenfirstcisbc.org/familyresourcecenters/

Triple P Parenting Resources

Dial 2-1-1 United Way’s 2-1-1 of Western North Carolina is a community service information line that links people to health and human services in Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, McDowell and Transylvania counties.

2-1-1 service is free, confidential and available 24/7 with interpreters. Whether you want to find or give help, trained referral specialists are available to answer your call and identify the right resources for you.

RAISING KIDS ISN’T ALWAYS EASY You want the best for your family—to set up your kids and teens for success and create a happier, calmer family life. But when do you learn how to parent, how to parent a teenager, or how do you raise successful children?

What if there was an online parenting program that could answer all your questions but still lets you choose the strategies that fit your family’s needs?

Thousands of American families have had success with Triple P Online, and it can help you too!

www.triplep-parenting.com