Bridging the GAP links grandparents with resources

BY GINNA PARSON

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) For years, Mary Marion was haunted, even tormented, by an idea. She’d put it aside for a while, but it never really disappeared. Finally, she prayed about it. And in 2002, she got her answer.

She had to bridge a gap ‚Äî a gap created when grandparents rear their grandchildren and don’t have the resources to do it.

“I’d been reading articles in AARP that were talking about more and more grandparents having to raise their grandchildren,” said Marion, the former director of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program at Lift, Inc. “There was stuff out there, but not for grandparents.”

Marion visited or researched several nonprofit agencies in Tupelo to see what they offered, because she didn’t want to duplicate services. What she found was no one had a program aimed at helping grandparents access services to help make a bumpy road smoother.

So Marion bridged the gap by founding a nonprofit organization called

“Bridging the GAP: Building Bridges for Kinship Care Families,” with GAP standing for Grandparents as Parents.

Once Marion came up with the idea for Bridging the GAP, she started looking for volunteers to help her realize her vision. Lillian Young of Tupelo and Beverly Smith of Aberdeen came on as founding members, with Doris Renshaw of Tupelo acting as a grandparent coordinator.

The group was active for six or seven years, then Marion’s mother became ill and Bridging the GAP became largely dormant. In the last year, Marion, Young and Smith have been meeting again to revive the mission.

Bridging the GAP’s objectives from the start ‚Äì and today ‚Äì are to find services to help grandparents and to connect grandparents to the services.

“The biggest problem we have is the system is set up for parents or guardians, but it’s not set up for grandparents,” Marion said. “It’s not set up to offer services for grandparents. If you’re not helping the grandparent, you’re not helping the child.”

According to data in the 2020 Census, more than 2.4 million grandparents in the U.S. are responsible for their grandchildren, Marion said, and an AARP state fact sheet shows Mississippi has 44,986 grandparents raising their grandchildren.

“Most grandparents are not aware of many services available to them, as well as how to access these resources,” Marion said.

Bridging the GAP is in the early stages of compiling a resource flyer for grandparents that will list local, state and national resources that offer services that could help them.

“Grandparents don’t know how to find or use these resources,” Young said. “They don’t know where to go, how to fill out paperwork. Some grandparents don’t have a computer or even know how to turn on a computer.”

When Bridging the GAP started 20 years ago, none of the founding members were grandparents. Now, both Young and Smith are helping to raise their grandchildren.

“I’m lucky,” Young said. “I’m a licensed daycare director. I know how to operate a computer. I know how to help my grandkids with homework. I know where to find resources.”

Every weekday afternoon and into the early eve- ning, Young helps take care of four and sometimes five of her grandchildren. She works with the older ones on homework and helps the younger ones with puzzles or coloring books. She gets them fed and bathed so when their moms get off work and pick them up, the kids are ready for bed.

“Sometimes, I feel like the parent when I have to fuss, but sometimes I feel like the grandparent when I let them get away with something,” said Young, a teacher’s assistant and bus monitor for the Tupelo Public School District.

When Bridging the GAP gets its resource flyer ready later this year, members hope to put them in schools, churches, doctors’ offices ‚Äì anywhere that will let them drop some off.

“We’re only providing information and connecting grandparents with the resources,” Marion said. “We’re not social workers. But I believe you do what you can do. And we can do this.”

Sunday, Sept. 11, is National Grandparents Day. Marion is hoping people remember to set aside some time to honor and remember grandparents.

“They are the cornerstone of our families,” she said. “Grandparents have helped form our family value systems, develop our character and mold our personalities. They are truly the jewel of the family unit.” www.lewistownsentinel.com