Last fall, the Harmony House case management team began piloting a new service– a parent education program called Nurturing Skills for Families. The purpose of the program is to help families flourish by providing them skills and knowledge to help them parent more successfully. Parents work one-on-one with case managers to identify the needs and wants of their family. Case managers then tailor the program based on these needs, helping parents learn to manage or avoid the issues that may have caused them to need our services in the first place.
We just completed the pilot, and Nurturing Skills will now be offered as part of our regular visitation services. In the short amount of time we’ve instituted this program, several parents have offered encouraging feedback. After completing the 10-week course, one mother said she knows she has a long way to go, but feels more confident in herself and her parenting than ever before. Another parent told staff he loved learning more ways to help his children express their emotions. This dad also asked for more resources and programs in the community to continue his parent education journey!
Through Nurturing Skills, it is our goal to support and strengthen families during their time in supervised visits. Harmony House is proud to empower parents through this new service. When they graduate from the program, we hope parents are more capable of providing a safe, loving, and nurturing childhood for their little ones.