Dear Editor:
Recently, the NEPA Intergenerational Coalition sponsored its 12th annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren( GRG ) conference and attracted over 200 people. This included many grandparents and representatives of social service agencies who serve this growing demographic. In addition to many presenters, there were over 40 vendor table booths who provided important information.
As a result of the conference, many opportunities exist to further the interests of the GRG community and help them expand their base of support which includes many of the agencies who are members of the coalition.
The Pittston Memorial Library is the administrative agent for the coalition and the library is the site for its meetings. We want to commend all participants who made this event possible and congratulate the many presenters who provided up-to-date information and answered many questions.
Think of the fact that this was the 12th such conference which was started a dozen years ago through the coalition which was initiated by the Luzerne County Human Services Department, the Area Agency on Aging for Luzerne/Wyoming Counties, and the then Jewish Family Service of Greater Wilkes-Barre. These entities, and many others who joined the coalition, deserve great credit for their support of any family that has found a need to have grandparents and other relative caregivers be the principal “second time around” facilitator of their grandchildren.
It is an important role being played by relatives who, at one time, thought their raising of biological children was the basis for a lifetime of support and love. There are over 2.5 million youngsters being raised by grandparents across the nation, 88,000 families in Pennsylvania where the primary role is being played by grandparents and thousands in northeastern Pennsylvania.
We want to commend all those families who have undertaken a new responsibility and suggest that, if any family facing this situation needs help, they contact the coalition at the Pittston Memorial Library, 47 Broad St. Pittston or e-mail the undersigned at grossmanhj@aol.com. We would be pleased to answer any questions that families raising grandchildren may have or refer GRG families to an appropriate responders such as one of several support groups that currently exist in this region where grandparents can interact with other grandparents facing the same need.
Howard J. Grossman, AICP
Chair, NEPA Intergenerational Coalition
Pittston Memorial Library
