The Athens-Clarke County Library is hosting a program for grandparents who are raising grandchildren on Thursday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m. Two speakers from the Athens Community Council on Aging, Paige Powell and Kelli McCain, will share coping methods as well as resources available through the ACCA to the attendees.
Grandparent caregivers can face emotional, social, financial, and legal issues, as well as poverty, poor health, delaying retirement, inadequate housing, loss of personal freedom, and more. Rhiannon Eades, the public information officer for Athens Regional Library System, says the community should know the resources available to help them.
“There are a lot of families out there where grandparents are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren. And so, they may not realize there are a lot of resources out there to help them in this because it can be a challenge. But there are resources out there for people to get some support and to get some coping skills that they need.”
According to the 2009 American Community Survey, approximately 102,000 grandparents in Georgia were responsible for raising their grandchildren. Eades says the library consistently works to offer courses that are informational and helpful to the community.
“We always try to put something out there that’s helpful information...So, this is just one of those programs where we’re really trying to connect the community with some information that will be helpful for them in their daily lives.”
“Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Coping Skills and Support” is sponsored by Reflecting, Sharing, Learning and is free and open to the public. For more information, visit RSLathens.org or call the Athens-Clarke County.
