Kinship Connection by The Bair Foundation

bair.org

Volume I Issue IV

A Very Kinship Christmas

n Saturday, December 8th, DSS Kinship Families gathered at Covenant Community UMC for a Kinship Christmas Event. The theme was “The Legend of the Candy Cane.” Children enjoyed ornament making, a delicious BBQ lunch, and a Christmas play performed by the children of Covenant UMC. During the play, Kinship providers were playing Santa Claus. Gifts from the children’s wish lists had been purchased by sponsors at Covenant, wrapped and bagged up – prepared to secretly go home with the Kinship families for Christmas morning! The Kinship providers didn’t leave empty handed. Each family received a Christmas ham with all the fixing’s, sweet treats and a handmade scarf. It was an amazing day filled with joy, generosity and kindness.

Thank you to teen volunteers Alesha Perlson, Kendall McDill, Jessica Hanley, and Marianna Miller. They are from Covenant Community UMC and the National Honor Society at TC Roberson High School.

Thank you to each member of Covenant Community UMC who chose a child from the Kinship Christmas list. Because of you, Christmas morning for these children was extra special. A great big Thank You to Biltmore Baptist for providing each child with a needed gift and volunteering time to help with the Christmas party. We would also like to thank Barnardsville Baptist for “adopting” Kinship families and providing gifts for the children and providers.

Barnardsville Baptist Church

Who is Bair & What is Kinship?

Bair’s Asheville Location at Executive Park

he Bair Foundation is a child and family ministry with 45 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 three 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? Laura May, Kinship Coordinator The Bair Foundation Executive Park Suite 217 - Bldg. 1 Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 350-5197 (877) 213-0723 toll free (828) 350- 5199 fax email: LMay@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 Laura!

Kinship

Resources

Super Thrift Store Western Carolina Rescue Ministries

tore proceeds are used to support Western Carolina Rescue Ministries of Asheville. Items for sale include clothing, furniture, books, dishes and other household goods. *If you are a Kinship Provider in Buncombe County’s Kinship Program, you can receive up to $25.00 worth of clothing free of charge to you. Simply tell the cashier you are a kinship provider, provide your last name and you are good to go!

Land-of-Sky Regional Council Family Caregiver Support

(828) 254-0010 624 Patton Ave. Asheville, NC 28806 A Big THANK YOU to Biltmore Baptist Richard Bellflower Connect Group for partnering with The Super Thrift Store to provide clothing to our kinship families! Hours of Operation: Monday - Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

(828) 251-6622 339 New Leicester Hwy, Asheville

and-of-Sky Regional Council is a four-county, local government planning and development organization in Western North Carolina, Serving BunServices Include: combe, Henderson, Madison & Transylvania Counties. Information about resources to help families in their caregiver roles. The Family Caregiver Support Program offers information, assistance and support to: Assistance to families in locating •

Kinship Caregivers age 55 and over caring for a child under the age of 18

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Caregivers caring for someone 60 or older

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Caregivers caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia.

resources and services from a variety of local agencies. Caregiver counseling and peer support to help families cope with the emotional and physical stress of dealing with caregiving.

Bountiful Holidays Indeed! Giving Thanks for Buncombe County Kinship Families... November is known as National Family Caregivers Month. Day in and day out, more than 65 million family caregivers in this country fulfill a vital role. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, more than 2.4 million grandparents reported that they were responsible for meeting the basic needs of their grandchildren.* In North Carolina alone, there are over 160,000 grandparents living in households with one or more of their grandchildren.** On Wednesday, November 21st, members of Covenant Community Church gathered ready to say ‘thank you’ in a very big way to our kinship families.

Over the course of two months, Covenant’s members faithfully brought Thanksgiving food items in order to create Thanksgiving meals for kinship families in Buncombe County. Food boxes were packed with traditional Thanksgiving items such as turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce and homemade pies. Member’s then set out to deliver Thanksgiving dinner to a total of 20 kinship families in the kinship program. Thank you Covenant Community Church for your dedication to this mission and for making the kinship families feel so very special! And a big thank you to the kinship families for all that you do everyday to keep these children safe, happy and healthy. * http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/kinshipcare-organization-resource-kit.pdf, Kinship Care Resource Kit **www.grandsplace.org/gp8/nc/html, North Carolina State Fact Sheet

Community Garden HARVEST A Bountiful Harvest! The Community Garden has been a big success this summer. Since May 5th, Covenant Community Church has maintained and produced over 1800lbs of fresh produce for the Kinship program, the church congregation, and many others in the community. The garden was a meeting place for kinship families on Tuesday nights. The Garden continued to be a great experience of fellowship and fun every Tuesday. Covenant Community Church garden planners were in attendance each Tuesday to help kinship families harvest as well as learn about successfully growing different types of vegetables.

Covenant Community Church and the Kinship Program made the vegetables available to kinship families and the church congregation by delivery as well as after church services on Sunday. Kinship families have expressed their gratitude for the fresh vegetables on a weekly basis. Kinship families bragged about the squash, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers. Many Kinship families and congregation members were pleased with other vegetables including Swiss Chard, Kale, Lettuce, Dinosaur Kale, onions, and beets. And since the community garden was such a success this summer, Covenant Community Church has made even bigger plans for the garden next summer. The Kinship Program certainly looks forward to the next garden season and the fellowship and fun that comes with it.

The Importance of Respite

First Baptist church of Black Mountain

If you have not done so already, speak with your Social Worker about potential family members that can provide respite from time to time. There are also creative respite opportunities available to you in your own community. Local churches such as Biltmore UMC and FBC of Black Mountain offer kids activities with no or minimal cost. We have listed their contact information here for you.

Biltmore United Methodist Church

he definition of respite is a brief interval of rest, and every caregiver needs respite time if he or she is to last! It may be hard to think of yourself and your needs at this time, but if you don’t, your life will be consumed by your duties and you will face burn out. Respite is not a luxury, it is a necessity. However you are able to arrange for some help - and it will take effort on your part, it won’t happen by itself - commit to taking some time at least once a week to do something for yourself.

Remember, when you are care giving 24/7 it can be hard mentally and physically - it’s a labor of love! To be the best possible kinship caregiver, you need to take care of yourself and be in a good frame of mind.

• Looking for a support group just for Kinship Families? • Need Clothing, food or emergency financial assistance? • What about addiction prevention programs for teenagers or afterschool help for children?

Need Help? Don’t Know Where to Turn? United Way’s 2-1-1 of WNC 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 to speakers of all languages. Whether you want to find or give help, trained referral specialists are available to answer your call and identify the right resources for you. To access the United Way Help line, just dial 2-1-1 from your phone or call toll free 1-866-401-6342. 2-1-1 wants to know if you know someone who needs help with food, or if you yourself are struggling? We make referrals for food pantries, soup kitchens, home delivered meals, food stamps, nutrition education and much more! Call 2-1-1 anytime 24/7 to speak with a referral specialist or search our online database for details about nonprofit and government services: http://www.211wnc.org

WHEN: Parents Night Out: one Friday per month during the school year from 6-9 pm; Children’s Day Out: held on designated Saturdays and includes transportation to/from various events and involves activity & lunch. WHERE: 130 Montreat Rd., Black Mountain, NC 28778 COST: Parents Night Out: $4.00 per child; Children’s Day Out: depends on activity and lunch. CONTACT: Scott Davis, Youth Minister (828) 669-6461 or fbcyoc@bellsouth.net

WHEN: Every second Saturday night of the month, from 5:00-8:00 pm; Experienced church child care staff entertain children with various fun and educational activities. WHERE: 376 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville COST: $5.00 per child CONTACT: (828) 274-2379

“Kinship & Conversation” The Bair Foundation’s Kinship Care Support Group

hen you go to a kinship support meeting you get a chance to connect with other kinship caregivers by sharing stories and information, offering support and listening to each other.

Mark Your Calendars! WHEN: Thursday, January 17th, 5:30 @ Bair Office February Meeting TBA @ Covenant Community Church, *Dinner & Childcare Provided*

Covenant UMC Church

These meetings include dinner and childcare. This gives the children an opportunity to meet and socialize with other children in similar situations. Come out and join us, have fellowship and network! Please contact Laura May for more information or questions. Bair’s Asheville office: Executive Park Building 1, Suite 217, Asheville Phone 828-350-5197 or Covenant Community UMC 11 Rocket Drive, Asheville Phone 828-298-8955

Kinship Connection is a publication of The Bair Foundation 217 Executive Park, Asheville, NC 28801 (877) 213-0723 bair.org