4 · SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2018 TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
RAISING CHILDREN: TAKE 2
THE SECOND TIME AROUND
More grandparents finding themselves raising grandchildren in golden years
Elaine Jenkins was 68 years
old when she and her husband
became primary caregivers to her
two grandchildren after her son
was murdered and the children’s
mother was unable to care for
them.
Like so many others in similar
situations, Jenkins wanted the
children to stay with family but
worried about having the energy
and money to raise a 5-year-old
and a 7-year-old, especially with
her husband facing health issues
of his own.
“One day you get a phone call
and this is the situation, now
what do you do?” said Jenkins,
of Monroeville. “So it was very
stressful. It turned our life upside
down. My husband and I had to
restructure everything.”
Asked what got her through the
upheaval, Jenkins was quick with
her first answer — the Lord —
then added that finding the right
resources available for grandpar-ents
and older family members
raising minor children was critical
to her family’s success.
In her case, it was A Second
Chance Inc., a unique kinship
care program that was founded in
North Braddock in 1994 and is a
subcontracting agency of Allegh-eny
County Children, Youth and
Families.
Other support systems through-out
the region include the Area
Agency on Aging Family Caregiver
Support Program for Grandpar-ents
and support groups such as
the Grandparents Raising Grand-children
group run by the Sisters
of Mercy.
Such organizations and groups
provide grandparents raising
grandchildren with everything
from financial assistance to help
filling out necessary paperwork
to emotional support and the
camaraderie of others in the same
position.
Grandchildren can end up living with and being raised by grandparents for a number of reasons.
Elaine Jenkins
SUBMITTED
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BY KAREN PRICE
FOR TRIB TOTAL MEDIA