Because family strengthening programs are needed now more than ever, Children’s Trust continues to work with its partners across South Carolina to deliver program services to children and families during the coronavirus pandemic. While social distancing has limited much of the in-person contact usually employed by our prevention programs, our partners have skillfully adapted their work to ensure children and families receive the support and resources they need to stay strong in these trying times. Growing Home Southeast, an organization committed to serving families, delivers our Strengthening Families Program (SFP) at five sites across the state. Here’s what Sunmer Cuesta Terry, the SFP program manager for Growing Home Southeast, said about his organization’s efforts to continue helping families through SFP at the Rock Hill site in spite of the obstacles. Karen Dukes-Smith, Children’s Trust senior SFP coordinator, and Sherri Caldwell, Children’s Trust director of community initiatives for SFP, provided support for Growing Home Southeast during this process.
Tell us how your organization was able to overcome the challenges of delivering services in your recent SFP cycle.
“We continue to think about the satisfaction and benefit of our families. We decided to think outside the box and we decided to keep going, creating and adapting.”
What moment stands out the most to you?
“I received this report from a facilitator after finishing a virtual session: ‘Tonight was a great class. It was going well and moving along nicely as participants shared home practice, asked questions, and actively engaged during discussions. However, the session transitioned to the next level when one of the participants shared that she no longer uses the belt on her children. She admitted that her parents used it on her and she naturally used it on her children, even though she knew deep inside that it was ineffective because it did not work on her when she was a child. She proceeded to add that this change is due to her participation in this program. She has made the decision and has taken action to discipline her children using the strategies taught in the weekly sessions, and it is making a noticeable and positive difference in her home. The program has taught her how to speak to her children, how not to yell, and how to best achieve the desired behavior from her children. She admits that it is not all perfect, but that she is applying the strategies and they ARE WORKING. Hearing her share this made it a truly extraordinary session. In addition, the fact that she felt comfortable to share this sensitive information, not just with the group leaders but with the entire class, is a testimony to the familial and inviting environment that has been created with the group. It is stories like this that provide credible evidence that we are helping families, one family at a time.’”
What have you learned that you can apply moving forward?
“There is always room to do different things. We cannot fit into traditionalisms. Although a person has spent their entire life doing something and has already passed the age of natural fluid learning, they can always unlearn and relearn if they forcefully pursue it.”
Sunmer Cuesta Terry
How did the children and families adapt to the new way of connecting?
“The adaptation of the families was not easy, but the families succeeded. It was a time to re-adapt to a virtual group (with) new rules for virtual coexistence and dedicating yourself to focusing on the screen and not on what was happening around you. They had to be convinced that it would work. The technical difficulties were the most challenging. We learned while teaching… (and) the families had to adapt to a less embedded and more fluid process. Keeping the children’s attention on the screen was a titanic task, however, we focused on using the same techniques we were teaching, and it turned out!”
Has your way of conducting business changed for good?
“For good, definitely, yes! If someone returns to ‘normality’ and their model does not change, it shows they should not be part of that dynamic since families are not going to benefit from their way of thinking. This difficult time has taught us the adaptability of being, the beauty of improvising in semi-controlled environments, and the joy of seeing that we can overcome adversity. I think we have seen that the program can flow in a less rigid way and get the same or even better results.”
Learn more about the Strengthening Families Program
