Catherine Becker of Rossville, along with her friends, Terri Bornhauser of Cincinnati, Ohio, Quellee Gonzalez of Lanham, Md., and Sandra Griffin, of Holland, Mi., all of whom she met through Zoom meetings that Ms. Becker was conducting through another forum, opened a new support group on Facebook called Joys and Challenges of Relative Caregivers.
The forum is unique in that they are not a forum for only posting comments on the page regarding issues and requesting input or advice, but instead is a very interactive forum, where participants actually get to know each other through meetings held twice a week through Zoom.
On Tuesday evenings there are professional guest speakers who speak to members regarding relevant matters in their current situations, i.e., an adoption attorney, a child behavioral counselor, a drug and rehab counselor, a child internet safety specialist, a grief counselor, etc.
On Thursdays is "Evening of Sharing", where participants get together, again through Zoom, and talk, laugh, cry, vent, play online games, and, most importantly, develop bonds with others across the United States and Canada, folks who are living life, who understand each other's joys and challenges.
The group has grown since Nov. 20 to 106 members.
In early December, participants were brought information that there may be some members in the group who may have been struggling with Christmas for their grandchildren this year. Ms. Becker, Ms. Bornhauser, Ms. Griffin and another member of the group, Carisa Evans, of Odessa, Fl. immediately went into action, opened a Gofundme account, and raised $800 in less than 24 hours for four of the families. They found out what the children wanted for Christmas, ordered it through Amazon and had the gifts sent directly to members, along with a gift certificate for Christmas dinner for their families.
Beginning at the first of the year, the group will begin the process of starting up a non-profit fundraising program to assist with urgent needs that grandparents may need from time to time. The first fundraising project will be a recipe book filled with the grandparents' own recipes. Many of the grandparents are retired or disabled and live on social security or disability and then all of a sudden they become financially responsible for these children. The decisions they make are made out of necessity and love and they should be raised up and admired for their efforts.
The group has opened a new website that is currently under construction. For more information email Youarenotalone.grg@gmail.com.