MEDIA, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Officials in Delaware County extended a helping hand this week to grandparents helping raise their grandchildren, through a special resource fair.
The idea for the grandparents’ fair on Thursday, stemmed from the opioid crisis, according to Sandra Garrison with Delaware County’s Department of Human Services and Community Support.
“They take the child in, because the child is at risk, but by the time they realize they need support, they’ll go to our local child welfare agency and they don’t qualify because the child is safe, so they really are struggling to help support these children,” she explained. “Unfortunately they fall between cracks, sometimes.”
County agencies and nonprofits gathered at the Media Borough Community Center to show grandparents the resources available to them.
The fair gave grandparents a chance to learn about resources they have at their fingertips from agencies and organizations including the County Office of Services for the Aging, Delaware County Veterans Affairs and the Early Learning Resource Center.
Angie Carr, with the grassroots organization Gratitude for Grandparents, has had custody of her two grandchildren for the last five years. She came to the fair to both give and get support.
“We’re looking for resources because we have a lot of problems, mostly financial problems,” she said, “because we can’t get any help from anybody, even though we legally have the children.”
Grandparents who could not make it to the event are encouraged to check the county’s website to find out more about the agencies that have resources available to them.