BUCKHANNON – The successful Healthy Grandfamilies program will return to Upshur County this June.

Lori Ulderich Harvey, executive director of the Upshur County Family Resource Network, said the totally free program will start again on June 8 at the Upshur County Recreational Park pavilion — the pavilion behind the Buckhannon-Upshur High School football field. The program will kick off at 11:30 a.m. for lunch and a presenter will speak from noon to 1 p.m. On-site childcare is provided.

“We will have childcare provided, and it’s very informal,” Harvey explained. “We’re here for the grandparents, to get them the information they need, whether it’s as a group or as an individual. We will continue having meetings every Wednesday until Aug. 10.”

Healthy Grandfamilies began at West Virginia State University in response to the growing number of grandparents raising their grandchildren. In past years, the Upshur County program has been highly successful.

“The grandparents we’ve had in the past have really enjoyed being around other grandparents in the same situation,” Harvey said. “It has become an informal support group, and we really encourage talking and sharing the high points, the low points – we’re there for all of it. If we have a grandparent that’s going through something, we will stay over and talk to them as long as we need to.”

The program is free and open to any grandparent raising, or helping raise, a grandchild – either through formal custody arrangements or informal help.

“It can be full or part-time care,” Harvey said. “We have such a high rate of grandparents formally or informally taking care of grandkids. They’ve already raised their kids, and now they’re back in a totally different environment trying to raise their grandkids. We have sessions on parenting in the 21st century, legal issues, navigating the school system, communication, how addiction affects families, self-care and health literacy. If you have a question and if we don’t know the answer, we find the answer to it, or if you’re having an issue, we help you get through the issue.

“We’re here to help. We want to make sure that they’re getting the best information from the experts that we have each week.”

Interested grandfamilies should register with the Upshur Family Resource Network by calling 304-473-1051 or emailing upshurfrn@yahoo.com by May 27. Learn more on Facebook by tapping here.