Newsletters

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With summer in full swing, many families are heading outdoors to enjoy all the beautiful things New England has to offer. At Step Up Parents, we have been busy rolling out our expansion into Cumberland County, Maine, making connections in the community, and meeting the needs of amazing kinship families.

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We are thrilled to announce Step Up Parents is expanding our service area to include kinship families from Cumberland County, Maine. When we began providing assistance in York County, Maine last spring, we were hopeful that we could continue to grow our network throughout the state, and this expansion to Cumberland County is our next step towards meeting the needs of kinship families throughout Maine.

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The leaves have changed and begun to fall, reminding us that winter is on the horizon. For many families, winter presents more challenges, including providing heat, reliable transportation, and warm clothing. At this time of year, we typically see a rise in need and are happy to help our kinship families make ends meet as they provide the children in their care with a warm and safe home.

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We are thrilled to announce Step Up Parents is expanding our service area to include kinship families from Cumberland County, Maine. When we began providing assistance in York County, Maine last spring, we were hopeful that we could continue to grow our network throughout the state, and this expansion to Cumberland County is our next step towards meeting the needs of kinship families throughout Maine.

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Spring has sprung! This time of year is perfect for new beginnings, so it's fitting that Step Up Parents is beginning its new venture in Southern Maine. We are excited to answer the call of Maine kinship families, starting with York County.

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With colder weather around the corner and the rising cost of home heating fuel and other utilities, we are very aware that staying warm will be much more difficult this year. Step Up Parents is working hard to be a resource for kinship caregivers facing not only the emotional and physical responsibility of raising the kinship children in their care, but the financial challenges as well. We are ready to help!

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We hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful summer! We appreciate that it can be difficult for working and older caregivers when the kids are home from school. Please reach out if we can help with summer camp or other summer activities.

Step Up Parents continues to grow as an organization, guided by our board of directors. Without them, we would not be where we are today. We would like to recognize the service and leadership of Paul Taylor and Katie Fontana as they leave our board and to welcome Pam Brazeau, Deb Anthony, Linda Sanborn and Candie Wright as the newest members of our board. Collectively, they bring a wealth of experience and skills to our leadership team. Please let us know if you would also like to get involved.

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Happy Spring! Here’s some news worth celebrating! In 2019, Step Up Parents began providing financial assistance to kinship caregivers raising the children of parents with substance use disorder in New Hampshire. We are thrilled to announce that we have now surpassed $100,000 in assistance, thanks to the help of our generous donors!

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‘Tis the season to give thanks for our family and friends and all of life’s blessings. Yet for many families touched by substance misuse, the holiday season can be particularly difficult.

Step Up Parents wants to express our deepest gratitude to all who have supported a loved one who struggles with substance use disorder. Their journey is emotionally, physically, and financially draining and often lasts for years. In many cases, children are involved, and they are unable to stay with their biological parents. For these vulnerable kids, staying with a relative helps to mitigate their trauma.

To all the hero kinship caregivers who stepped up for the children of parents with addiction, we say THANK YOU. You define what it is to be a hero on a daily basis by facing adversity with strength, courage, and selflessness. We honor you, and our donors support your efforts.

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September is National Kinship Care Month. It is a time to recognize and honor relative caregivers, each one of whom is an everyday hero to a child who has faced the uncertainty of not knowing who will step up to take care of them when their parents can’t. In the United States, there are well over 2.7 million grandparents and other relative caregivers, including over 12,000 grandparents raising grandchildren in New Hampshire. Studies show that keeping a child with a relative when they are removed from their biological parents helps to mitigate past trauma and reduces future trauma. At Step Up Parents, we celebrate kinship caregivers and their families every day. We hope you will join us in raising awareness and supporting their efforts with our Annual Appeal this month…

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Happy Spring! As vaccines are administered, we look forward with hope to a more normal year ahead, including warm hugs we all have missed. We will be forever changed by the events of last year and the devastating effects of Covid-19. At Step Up Parents, we are reminded daily of the importance of family in hard times and of the heroes among us…

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Welcome to the new year and our recently-named quarterly newsletter, Step by Step! Last year was like no other in ways we couldn’t have imagined. For kinship families, their daily challenges were compounded by the unrelenting grip of the pandemic. Caregivers dealt with not only economic and health challenges but were also expected to be teachers, coaches, and counselors…so much to ask of anyone. We are hopeful that 2021 will mean the easing of some of the stresses and burdens that so many families are facing…