By Dr. John E. Warren – Publisher
Over 200 adults, many looking like parents and not grandparents, along with a large number of children registered for the child care activities of the symposium, were on hand at the Jacob’s Center Saturday, September 7th. The program was presented and designed to provide information, inspiration, and resources for grandparents and kinship caregivers in celebration of the family. Sponsored by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency’s Aging and Independence Services, First 5 San Diego, Live Well San Diego and the San Ysidro Health Center, the meeting was a must for anyone involved with an extended family. There were over 18 resource tables available from AARP, American Red Cross WIC Program, Disability Help Center, the Grandparents Connection/Juvenile Courts School, HHS Central Region, HHS Southeast Family Resource Center, Rady Children’s Hospital, SDG&E and YMCA of San Diego County Kinship Program to name a few. Elizabeth Bustos of the San Ysidro Health Center led off the event with welcoming remarks with the San Diego Chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers 9th and 10th Calvary Association providing the Color Guard.While there were panel presentations, two of the most important highlights of the event to many were the “celebrating our Families” address by Rev. Dr. Clifford Barnett and the presentation of Mr. Stacy Walker, a proud product of his grandmother, speaking on “Understanding the Value of Kinship Care and Celebrating its Role in Society.” Rev Barnett spoke of the importance and the challenges of getting the church involved in grandparenting; the rewards to both the child and those who get involved. He told the audience thatgrandparents have a special relationship caring for offspring of their own children.
Statistically there are 7 million children in America with grandparents and about 1 million that don’t have a biological parent in their lives; 21 percent of grandparents live below the poverty line and 60 percent of grandparents are still in the work force. These figures shared with the participants by Mr. Stacy Walker really hit home as he shared his personal story. His mother was murdered when he was a child and his grandmother raised he and his sister. His grandmother, Shirley Martin was cited as his hero. Born in the South she raised seven children on her own and later in life went to college. She quit the healthcare job she loved to take care of he and his sister. She had major health challenges in life ranging form high blood pressure, cancer, kidney failure, a kidney transplant, and other problems but she never gave up and is alive today.
Now a college graduate, Mr. Walker is giving back to the system that allowed his grandmother to take care of him. He told the audience, “We have gone to Mars, but have not provided adequate assistance to grandparents. This must change.”
The meeting was not all serious. There were songs by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Choir, opportunity drawings, poetry readings and a translating system that allowed bilingual understanding of what was taking place. The event was not only well attended, but also very well planned. Perhaps one of the most important handouts was a “Handbook for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children.”
