Familyhood Programs Transform Lives.

During the height of the pandemic, our Familyhood Programs shifted to the majority of virtual options.  One might think that during this time, the program would struggle to maintain consistency, much less grow.  But for Familyhood, the opposite happened.  Their programs have expanded and are offering a total of seven different options this Fall semester!

Participant Tanya Zato shared, “A few years ago, I moved to the community and became a single parent.  I was struggling and isolated.  I needed to connect with the community and have support.  Familyhood was a God-send!”  She goes on to say,

“I have met friends that are now friends for life; it’s helped build more stability in my home and has had a huge impact on our family, brought us closer, and improved communication skills.”

Another participant and (now) facilitator, Arnette McKinney joined the program in 2016. “When I was starting my training, it gave me so many ‘ah ha!’ moments and took me back to my years as a parent, and I wanted to pass this on to my grandchildren.”  McKinney is a Parent Resource teacher at the local Elementary School, Fiske, in Woodlawn.  She advocates and recruits parents to join the different Familyhood programs.  “I have so many parents that have come through the class and said how much it’s impacted them.  It’s been such an asset to our community!”

Familyhood also offers support for men!  Participant William Reese first joined RHCK in 2015 while he was the President of PAC at Gary Comer High School.  “Realizing a lot of families are struggling with the same problems and coming together to talk about it has helped a lot of families!”  The father of nine explains how it helped his own family, “For us personally, it helped bring more structure around family time- setting aside time to eat meals together without the phones and making everyone accountable to be present.”  Many fathers have participated through the years, and in 2021, Familyhood launched a men’s specific cohort, offering space for men to share their truth, build a brotherhood, and be encouraged through the Word of God.

During the Summer, a group of women joined together to study the Bible story of Jonah.  Participant and RHCK facilitator Sharyn Dyer was deeply impacted by this study.  “I truly identified with Jonah’s misguided perceptions of God’s tailor-made grace for his people, particularly the ones who are seemingly undeserving of his loving-kindness and grace.”

Each different class and cohort offers new insights and support to families.  

This Fall, Familyhood is offering 3 parenting specific classes;  Raising Highly Capable Kids, Taking Home the 40 Developmental Assets, and 7 Traits of Effective Parenting.  In addition, they offer a Financial Literacy Course and a men-specific group, Building Men. Bi-monthly, they open the doors to a fun evening of Families. Activities. Meals. (FAM) and also offer individual support services.  

Please visit the Familyhood Page to see a description of each program and links to register!