Local Family Center Organizes Disaster Preparedness Activities
In the wake of a recent tornado, a community organization dedicated to supporting families is planning a series of disaster readiness events. These events are designed to educate both parents and children on how to stay safe during a disaster.
The Family Resource Centers in Polk County have hosted "play and learn" events in the past. However, this is the first time they're focusing on disaster preparedness. The coordinator of the family resource center in East Grand Forks expressed her enthusiasm about these events, stating that they are "really great."
Event Details
Three disaster readiness "play and learn" events are scheduled. The first session will take place in Crookston at the library, followed by a session in East Grand Forks at the family resource center, with the final one happening in Fosston at the Civic Center.
The Family Resource Center is collaborating with a Northwest Minnesota legal services organization for these events. This partnership will allow for materials and a presentation to be delivered by a disaster readiness specialist.
Event Goals
The events aim to equip families with critical information for disaster situations. This includes guidance on liaising with disaster relief agencies, drafting a family emergency plan, identifying safe meetup points, and gathering essential phone numbers. A family activity is also planned, although details have yet to be revealed.
The coordinator believes these events were inspired by a recent tornado and sees them as an essential addition to the regular "play and learn" events. She said, "we should definitely look into doing that."
Future Events
The Family Resource Center has more events planned, such as an October session involving pumpkins and cooking pumpkin pudding. The center also hosted past events on water safety, stranger danger, and family game nights.
The coordinator explained that these events aim to strengthen the bond between parents, caregivers, and their children, particularly those aged 0-18, through various activities.
Services Provided by the Family Resource Center
The Family Resource Center strives to create a safe, welcoming environment for families. This includes providing access to resources, referring families to services, and assisting with paperwork. All services are available at no cost to the public.
The center focuses on five key factors for strengthening families: parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, understanding of parenting and child development, and social and emotional competence of children.
"A lot of what we do at the play and learns is model healthy interactions and different easy ways to connect with our kids," the coordinator explained. "Also helping parents to navigate big emotions for kids is really important for us, too."
Annual Resource Fair and Celebration
An annual resource fair is planned for November, where families can connect with community partners and enjoy activities and games for kids.
The East Grand Forks center, a member of a national network of support centers for families, was the second to be opened in Polk County. The center is part of a community action agency based in Crookston, which aims to improve the quality of life for people and communities throughout Minnesota and North Dakota.
