SOMERSET – The Pulaski County Transformation Team, Pulaski County UNITE Coalition and the Pulaski Ministerial Association collaborated on a the first step of a community wide endeavor – the Pulaski County Thriving Families Program.
The program’s goal is to mobilize 100 healthy thriving families to help mentor families that may be struggling due to a myriad of issues such as poverty, addiction, conflict, and other areas.
Focus On the Family staff agreed to develop a family mentoring program integrating components of the Search Institute’s 40 developmental assets, Raising Healthy Kids, as well as other research-based components.
Approximately 70 individuals attended a Thriving Families Training held on November 21, 2009 from 9 a.m. to noon at Somerset Christian School. Trainers for the program included Frank Johnson and Mike Haley from Focus on the Family.
Many community church congregations as well as interested community members from McCreary and Adair counties were represented.
All attendees received the training manual and the Raising Healthy Kids kit.
Due to a conflict of the training date with other church activities the training was taped so it can be offered again.
Already word of the training has been spreading around in the community due to its novel approach. While our schools, professionals, and individuals engage in mentoring activities, this is a comprehensive effort to incorporate a family into a mentoring program.
It is possible this may become a model program that becomes duplicated across the United States.
For additional information contact steering committee members Mark Harrell at 677-1100, Dale Kirby at kirbysomerset@aol.com, Julena Edwards at julena.edwards@pulaski.kyschools.us, Kathy Hall at kathy.hall@pulaski.kyschools.us, or Joe Cox at facsomerset@windstream.net.