LEBANON — Waypoint NH, a nonprofit organization that assists families and has a branch in the Upper Valley, is launching a family resource center at its Lebanon location.
The center is being funded by a Couch Family Foundation grant to support children and families in the region.
This fall, renovations will take place at Waypoint’s space on 63 Hanover St., said Danna Bare, the Upper Valley Family Resource Center manager.
“What it does is enhances the services that were offered before the pandemic,” Bare said.
Waypoint — formerly known as Child and Family Services — advocates for children, provides counseling services to families and recruits foster parents.
The idea for a family resource center developed from a community survey taken before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There was no real sort of community center hub for families in Lebanon and the surrounding areas,” Bare said. “The family resource center concept is a national model that creates a resource hub for families in a community and it’s community driven, really. It recognizes that every community is different in what their needs are.”
In Lebanon, the focus will be on programs that promote parental resilience, child development and resources parents can access when they’re in crisis.
There will be classes, support groups and activities parents can participate in with their children.
“The focus is at the beginning, that early childhood group, but the hope is that as there’s more and more expansion there’s more programming to serve older kids and teens, a variety of ages,” Bare said. “But we had to start somewhere.”
Bare has already started some programs, including an outdoor playgroup at Colburn Park for children under 5, with their siblings and parents, which meets from 10 to 11 a.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month through Oct. 20.
There’s also a “Caregiver and Me” yoga class at Jim Wechsler Field in Lebanon, which takes place from 9 to 10 a.m. on Thursdays through Aug. 26.
Originally, the yoga class was planned for children ages 5 and up, but that changed when participants asked about bringing toddlers.
“It’s a little yoga, a little play,” Bare said. “It’s much more free flowing.”
A virtual support group for single mothers with children of all ages meets virtually from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday. It is “for any mom who needs that space to process what they’re dealing with,” Bare said.
There was hope that the COVID-19 pandemic would have abated and more programs would be available.
“In March our thinking was spring and summer’s coming, this is it, let’s program this all for (in-person) connection,” Bare said. “There’s now this new layer of it’s really not over yet. It’s involving a lot of contingency planning.”
Bare is working on programs for the fall and is welcome to suggestions from families about what they’d like to see.
“The real goal is that by the end of the year, there’s a rich variety of parenting education, family activities, fun family activities, support groups on a variety of topics and that is what I’ve been hired to create,” she said.
On Saturday, Aug. 28, Waypoint will host an online “CampOut and Family Game Night.” Families are asked to pitch a tent in their backyards or elsewhere and then hop online at 7 p.m. for virtual activities. People can register for free, but are asked to make a donation. There is also an online auction. All proceeds will go toward the new Family Resource Center. People can register at waypointnh.org/happenings/the-waypoint-campout-2021.
Editor’s note: For more information about Waypoint’s programs, visit waypointnh.org, email uppervalleyfrc@waypointnh.org or call 603-518-4325. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
