Helping To Create Better Isle Parents
By Lisa Groulx, P.A.R.E.N.T.S. executive director
P.A.R.E.N.T.S. Inc. (Providing Awareness, Referrals, Education, Nurturing, Therapy & Support) is a 501(c)(3) organization that has been helping Hawaii’s families since 1975.
Our mission is to partner with families to empower them by providing parenting education and support services in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. Our vision is that all children have the opportunity to grow up in a nurturing family. Our services currently are being offered on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii.
We would like to share a client testimonial (visit our website to see the full version):
“If I didn’t complete parenting, I wouldn’t have been able to get my kids back. When I actually embraced P.A.R.E.N.T.S. Inc. and accepted my facilitator’s guidance and information and used the group as some personal support, it helped me to shape my parenting views. It taught me principles about parenting that I never knew. P.A.R.E.N.T.S. Inc. really helped me to shape my perspectives on parenting. It gave me lots of information that I did not have before.
“P.A.R.E.N.T.S. Inc. has been really supportive of me.
They helped me to know that my children weren’t just a responsibility, that they were gifts, and it was gift to be a parent. I realized that it was a blessing to be able to contribute to someone else’s life other than my own. I walked away from P.A.R.E.N.T.S. Inc. knowing that with this information and this new-found perspective that I had been given, through their curriculum, that we had a chance – my children had a chance of being somebody one day.
Had I not been part of P.A.R.E.N.T.S. Inc., I would have never known that there were other choices. I would have never known that there were other ways, tools, perspectives on parenting.”
More than 3,000 parents and children benefit from P.A.R.E.N.T.S. Inc. services annually. Last year, 76 percent of our families were single parents, 51 percent were unemployed, 79 percent came from low-income households, and 78 percent lacked the education necessary to compete in the job market.
Although we do prevent and treat child abuse and neglect, we also support the everyday parents who want additional tips on how to be the best parent in this constantly evolving world.
To find out more about parenting education, to make a donation or to volunteer, please visit our website at hawaiiparents.org, “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @parentshawaii. Save the date: April 5. We are kicking off Child Abuse Prevention Month with our third annual Kickball Tournament to Kick Child Abuse and Neglect Out of Hawaii.
Hawaii charitable organizations may send requests for space in either Proof Positive or the free advertisement below to dchapman@midweek.com.
