Bridges for Better Living offering help for families
Mark Caudill
MANSFIELD - Raising kids isn't easy.
It can be even harder for grandparents who are thrust into the role.
"Parenting nowadays is very different from parenting when they were raising their children," said Jacki Barnett of Bridges for Better Living. "You tend to feel pretty lost for a while.
"A lot of them are on Social Security. How do you stretch those dollars?"
Bridges for Better Living, a new business started by Cathy McGlone and Barnett, aims to help those people.
That is only one of the services offered by the new business, located at 260 Park Ave. W., Mansfield, a couple of buildings to the east of Church's Chicken.
Other services include:
• Supervised visitation seven days a week.
• Parent education and mentoring.
• Camera-secured areas for drop-off and child exchange for parenting time.
• One-stop information and referrals.
• Helping families navigate the system for services.
• Assisting individuals with developmental delays and disabilities.
"Promoting child safety is our No. 1 goal," McGlone said.
Bridges for Better Living will serve Richland, Crawford, Ashland, Morrow and Knox counties.
McGlone, who was working out of her home the past several years, is glad to have an office near downtown.
"This has been my dream," she said.
The space is light and airy. McGlone likes to say she and Barnett "went shopping in our own homes" to help furnish it.
Also lending a hand were the folks at the Lexington Senior Civic Center, who provided some chairs and stuffed animals. Barnett has made sleeping bags for the stuffed toys.
Games and a chalkboard also can occupy children.
McGlone said the business is seeking nonprofit status and is accepting donations. She and Barnett worked together years ago.
"We've always had the same heart for children," Barnett said.
Bridges for Better Living will get referrals from domestic relations court, attorneys or through word of mouth.
"We've been asked by quite a few people in the system," McGlone said.
McGlone said she and Barnett arrange a meet-and-greet with parents who need their services.
"It makes it comfortable for the children," she said. "By the second or third time, they're already calling me Aunt Cathy."
Barnett is partial to grandparents. She has first-hand knowledge to help those who need their services.
"I am a grandparent who took in a grandchild with special needs 20 years ago," she said. "I've been in the trenches."
Barnett said there are 3,000 Richland County grandparents who are raising grandchildren on a full-time basis.
"Those numbers have grown exponentially," she said.
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Ontario United Methodist Church meets with such grandparents regularly. Barnett has sat in.
"When these kids (being raised by grandparents) go to school, they feel very different because now they don't have parents," Barnett said.
She said such children often get teased by their classmates, especially if their parents are in jail.
Parents can often be on bad terms, which is why providing safe exchange points is a valuable service. Those usually take place at a police station.
"We were blessed to have found this office," McGlone said.
Some of the fees for services include $20 per hour for supervised visitation; $20 per hour per attendee for a parent/kinship education class, which is a six-week course, an hour a week; and $25 per session for independent parent education.
McGlone said she and Barnett will keep in touch with families even after their services are no longer needed.
"It's a long-term commitment," Barnett added.
For more information, call McGlone at 419-775-6625 or Barnett at 419-612-3715.
mcaudill@gannett.com
419-521-7219
Twitter: @MNJCaudill