Hello Fall, It’s So Wonderful To See You!
Change is the one thing we can depend on in life. Just as we are transitioning from summer here comes the beautiful fall and all of it’s wonder’s. Soon we will see the leaves turn from green to all the beautiful fall colors. We are changing from the summer leisure wear to the comfort of the hoodies and sweats, boots and winter coats and all the great things that come along with fall.
This is a favorite time of year, early fall camp ground activities and camp fires to roast the s’mores. Tell the spooked stories and create wonderful family memories for years to come.
In pursuit to help build sustainability within families is one task that we have been working on for many year’s. We have made some impact in many areas yet we still have families that fall prey to the issues and ills of our society today. One common theme in building sustainability in families are income and stability with housing. Many times over the years we look at the family and where they are at the time of crisis.
Crisis can mean several things to many people depending on which area of interest you have in helping families. For me it’s the at risk children and helping to save them through offering better choices for their life. This can be a challenge especially if the youth and the family feel that they do not meet the at risk criteria. What are the risk factors in the family?
*Families that have household members in jail or prison
*Families that are isolated from and not connected to other people (extended family, friends, neighbors)
*Families experiencing other types of violence, including relationship violence
*Families with high conflict and negative communication styles.
Because families have the spice of life and our children really are our future. It’s important that we teach our children and provide them the best start in life we can. Always before reporting a family to the government agencies it’s imperative that as family and community members we do all we can to help and assist that family making them aware that you’re there to help, not harm but should your help not be welcomed and or not wanted that they leave you no other choice but to involve the professionals. Many years ago families and communities worked together raised the children and worked through family issues keeping families together as much as possible. Where did we lose sight of the community and families? How do we gain our power back when we look at the areas of:
Income
Health & Safety
Environment & Agricultural
Resources
Opportunities
An unstable home is based on these criteria: A home that is not physically safe or supportive. No heat, electricity, water, sewer disposal, ill repair. Physical instability comes from the physical interactions that occur between family members.
In the pursuit to build sustainability within families we must stop and see the needs of the families. Poverty is it by design or do we really have the power to break the chain’s that bind us forever. What are some of the obstacles our families face in getting and coming together some criteria for family problems are:
*Different personalities clashing and disagreements over ways of doing things.
*Jealously or fighting between brothers & sisters
* Parenting arguing
*Divorce or separation
* New step-parents or step-brothers & sisters
*A parent or relative having mental health problems, disabilities or illness.
How do we begin to break some of these barriers and help families see that they are their biggest assets when it comes to building wealth within the family to build sustainability and support for one another? How do we get families to buy into the growth and development of each individual in the family to help them see the difference one can make in their lives and the lives of their families?
You can learn more about building sustainability in families at the nj.gov website there you will find information as well as resources that are working to help build sustainability within families.