In one place

Family services are available in Jay County.

They’re now accessible from a local hub.

Family Resource Center of Jay County opened in July at 827 W. High St., Portland. Located in the same building as Jay County Early Learning Center — formerly Judge Haynes Elementary School — the facility offers community services and opportunities for families.

The center serves as the 10th of its kind in Indiana. The team consists of representatives from Firefly Children & Family Alliance, Purdue Extension Office of Jay County, IU Health Healthy Beginnings and Indiana Department of Child Services of Jay County.

“These are all just groups and agencies that have already been getting together in these meetings and these groups to see what we can better do for families in the community,” said Firefly Children & Family Alliance prevention director Tashia Weaver, who also oversees programs in six other counties.

A brick-and-mortar location for services gives local families a place to connect with a liaison regarding their needs, such as food assistance programs or parent training services.

Ashley Drees, health and human sciences educator with Purdue Extension of Jay County, talked about the importance of providing concrete resources, such as when the facility offered car seats to families in September.

“Having what we refer to as concrete resources and community support and social connections, that helps put community members into contact with the things they need to take care of their families, because not everybody can afford, you know, a winter coat or new shoes or a car seat when their kid grows out of it,” she said.

Utilizing a grant from the Federal Children’s Bureau in 2020, Indiana University School of Social Work and Firefly Children & Family Alliance piloted four Strengthening Indiana Family Resource Centers, with the first two established in Delaware and Grant counties. Indiana Department of Child Services added that model for resource centers to the state’s prevention service standards and funded five additional centers across the state.

Weaver said a resource center has been in the works for Jay County for about three years. 

“The Portland Foundation asked us all to come to the table to start,” said Weaver. 

“I think it was, ‘How can we better support our families?’”

Around the same time, Prevent Child Abuse Indiana started piloting prevention framework in Jay County. Its mission statement: “A community that provides opportunity supports thriving families.” Weaver explained she and others aimed to put that mission into action.

Weaver and Indiana Department of Child Services of Jay County director Justin Littman applied for funding to create a resource center but had no success. Drees recalled how conversations continued circling around funding.

“(I said) listen, we’re already showing up, we’re already doing the work, why don’t we just get this thing running on a volunteer basis?” she said.

The Portland Foundation offered office space in the north wing of the former Judge Haynes Elementary School, which doubles as Jay County Early Learning Center. Although state dollars hadn’t been allocated for the project, local organizations decided to charge forward.

Family Resource Center of Jay County opened this summer. In the first two months, Weaver said, the facility saw more than 100 individuals stop in for services.

“We filled it up quick,” Weaver said, recalling her efforts in opening resource centers in Grant and Delaware counties. “We’ve seen more families coming here from day one than I saw in the start dates of those.”

Indiana Department of Child Services later allocated a small amount of funding to hire a paid staffer. Several local agency partners also offer their help on a volunteer basis, including Drees, who serves as co-coordinator.

“A lot of my work naturally aligns with the goal of the Family Resource Center,” she said. “So, connecting partners to the Family Resource Center, getting partners to be physically present in our Family Resource Center and, you know, delivering their services to the community in an accessible space.”

In September, the Family Resource Center offered a community baby shower every Tuesday. Families were invited to stop in to celebrate their infants while the facility also offered classes on safe sleep and car safety. 

On Tuesday, the Family Resource Center will offer holiday meal kits, snacks and crafts from 1 to 5 p.m., along with child care navigator and Healthy Beginnings support. 

Family Resource Center of Jay County’s hours are limited, with the facility mainly open from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays. For more information about hours and programming, visit the facility’s Facebook page or call (260) 729-2848.

Weaver and Drees shared hopes to see resource center efforts become more mobile, allowing representatives to travel across the county for programming and services.

Drees said the goal is to make the facility stigma-free and accessible. Ultimately, the goal is to help propel families toward a sustainable and self-reliant model.

“Anyone can come in, we don’t do any kind of income checks or questioning, just, ‘What do you need? What brings you in today? How can we help you?’ And just getting them in connection with what they need to keep their family safe.”