Thursday, October 21, 1999
Family Center specializes in resources
Information hub, gathering spot for community
BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — For single mother Star Morgan, the Family Center has helped clothe her children, furnish her apartment and provide friendship and support when she most needed it.
Frequent visitor Darlene Lee says she found invaluable help in her job search. The 39-year-old Covington woman also received advice on how to deal with her teen-ager as well as her younger daughter, who recently was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disor der.
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CENTER HOURS
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The Family Center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, and from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Faye Massey, the center's coordinator, is available to help clients from 8 a.m. to noon Mondays and Thursdays, and from 1 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays.
Families that tour the facility before Nov. 30 can register to win a family membership to the Newport Aquarium. Information: 491-2220.
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“In the classes on how to deal with kids, they have the parents in one room, and the kids in another,” Ms. Lee said. “It means a lot to be able to take my kids when I go to a meeting there, and not have to find a sitter.”
Now in its second month of operation, the Family Center has served 159 families, said Jennifer Malas, family support coordinator for the Covington Community Center. It also has provided computer access for everything from job searches to writing a resume, as well as information on child care, senior services, tenants' rights, and KCHIP, the new free health insurance program for children of working parents.
An offshoot of the Coving ton Community Center, the Family Center operates at 1010 Jackson St., across the street from the community center.
Besides providing information on community services and programs, the center also serves as a gathering spot for parent meetings and neighborhood groups.
Ms. Malas said the center was formed after neighborhood residents surveyed last year said they needed a place to find information.
A flier recently distributed to the center's neighbors invited residents to “come in and find information. If we don't have the answers, we'll help you find it.”
“We're changing the focus from emergency assistance to more preventive kinds of things,” Ms. Malas said. “People can come here to look for a job, learn how to deal with a problem their child may be having at school, or find out about community or school activities.”
The Center is sponsoring an open house from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Nov. 18. to help get the word out to local community agencies.
Ms. Morgan is a member of Community Moms, a parent leadership group that evolved from a training program for parents. This year, the Community Moms planned the Covington Community Center's annual ice cream social, and the groupmembers regularly volunteer at the center.
“You can find information on just about anything at the Family Center,” Ms. Morgan, a 25-year-old mother of three, said. “But what I like best is the support you get from the staff and other parents. You always know you can count on them.”
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