Nurturing Hope - Feb 2010

Feb 2010

Most people have no idea what a relief nursery is, let alone that Medford has one of the best in Oregon. But as more and more local parents turn to them for help, the word is spreading that Family Nurturing Center is a safe haven filled with love, learning, and laughter.
Danielle, a recent client of Family Nurturing Center, put it this way: “From the moment I first called, I felt a connection that I hadn’t had before. The people at there are truly focused on creating a healthy family. I feel that my daughter is safe, nurtured, and involved in activities that help her cope and regain her self esteem.”
Relief nurseries provide comprehensive services to families with young children who are at-risk for abuse and neglect. The services are voluntary, free, and typically include daycare for children whose parents desperately need a time-out, a therapeutic preschool, a hotline to call for a family crisis, parenting classes and support groups, wholesome family fun events, home visits, donated clothes and diapers, nutritious meals, and more.
Family Nurturing Center is the official relief nursery for Jackson County. There are 10 other relief nurseries scattered across Oregon. All of them are modeled on nationally recognized best practices in early childhood education and family support. The nurseries work closely with other agencies to ensure children are getting the health and education services they need to grow up healthy and prepared for school.
Mary-Curtis Gramley is the founding Director of Family Nurturing Center. “In the mid-eighties I had a practicum experience at the Eugene Relief Nursery while I was in graduate school. About 20 years later after working in mental health programs for children and at SOU in early childhood and teacher education, I became the director of the Court Appointed Special Advocates program. As I went about my work with families, I couldn’t help but reflect on what might have been if there had been a relief nursery to serve these children and parents,” said Gramley.
In 2005, Gramley teamed up with three other community leaders who were also interested in starting a relief nursery. Susan Harris, Doug Mares, and Rita Sullivan became the organization’s first Board of Directors. Family Nurturing Center opened its doors in May, 2006 and has since served nearly 400 children from struggling families. Currently, 104 children are enrolled in the program.
“We recently started two collaborative projects,” Gramley said, “one with Head Start and one with Healthy Start. Each of these projects provides special services designed for children and families whose needs require unique combinations of different interventions. Throughout the existence of the Family Nurturing Center, we have sought out opportunities to collaborate with other agencies and programs, believing that this is one way to build a stronger and broader system of services for children and families.”
Oregon’s 11 relief nurseries receive some state funding because they not only protect children and support families, they save money, too. It costs $4,000 to provide a child with 12 months of relief nursery service, as compared to $54,000 a year to try and rehabilitate a teenager in the juvenile corrections system. Given the correlations between child abuse and crime and drug abuse, supporting nurseries like Family Nurturing Center is a sound public policy.
But the bulk of a relief nursery’s budget must be raised locally. Since its inception, Family Nurturing Center has experienced steady growth in financial support from local donors and a long list of charitable organizations including the Anna May Foundation, Carpenter Foundation, Chaney Family Foundation, Gordon Elwood Foundation, West Family Foundation, Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon, Medford Police Association, St. Mark’s Episcopal Parish, and many more.
Although they have been generally successful in fund raising, Family Nurturing Center still lacks the resources to help all of the struggling families who call for assistance. A growing waiting list and consistently high abuse rates in Jackson County confirm the need for increased community support of effective child-abuse prevention programs.
For those who cannot afford to donate money, but have time to spare, Family Nurturing Center welcomes volunteer applications. “We have 39 volunteers and we treasure each of them and are exceedingly grateful for what each one gives to the children,” said Gramley.
For more information, call Family Nurturing Center at 541.779.5242 or visit them on the Web at www.FamilyNurturingCenter.org.