It Takes a Village: How We Can All Show Some Love For Area Families

By Jocelyn Turner Whitlock

When my son was born last year, I quickly realized that no one can prepare you for all of the questions that occupy your mind with a new baby. Am I feeding him too much? Too little? Is this normal? How do other people handle this? Why is he crying now? Will I ever sleep again? Where can I go to get some help? I now know that my experience was very common and I was not alone in needing help with my newborn. A randomized control trial found that 94% of families need specific education, recommendations, or community service referrals after the birth of a baby. But with no birthing center in the county and increasingly isolating times, where do you find this extra support?

A year ago, Smart Start of Transylvania County (SSTC), along with its partners in the GetSet Transylvania early childhood collaborative, launched Family Connects in the county. Family Connects is a community-based, public health-oriented program designed to promote infant and parent well-being. The goal is to engage with a family and celebrate the arrival of the new baby, acknowledging the joyful yet often challenging time, to answer questions, give guidance, and most of all, build a bridge to the bountiful community programs and resources available to support and nurture families in Transylvania County. 
As a true community partner, the Family Connects Transylvania County program thrives on our community partnerships. Our medical home is embedded within a prominent pediatric care practice in the county, Hendersonville Pediatrics.

As an extension of their services, during a Family Connects visit, parents are able to relax with their little one in the comfort of their home and be at ease asking the questions that are so often forgotten, trusting that their safety and privacy are paramount. Family Connects Transylvania County is very proud to be able to offer the services of two highly trained nurses, Bonnie Garner and Holly Watkins, to conduct the visits. Both Bonnie and Holly have extensive and impressive careers in pediatric and maternal care and are passionate about the people and community that they call home. At the visit’s end, with permission from the family, the nurse visitor will assist in identifying resources in the community from help with breastfeeding, story time at the library, and parenting classes at The Family Place, to food and housing support and anything in between. 

The first anniversary of the program this February also happens to coincide with Family Support Awareness Month. This is intended to increase and promote awareness of early childhood home visiting and parenting education programs. These programs aim to build systems of support for families and ensure that children are healthy, safe, and ready to learn. Family Connects is one such program that strives to ensure essential connections for each and every newborn and promote equitable outcomes through our community systems of care. 

As we kick-off our second year of clinical services, we are delighted to be organizing a diaper drive during the month of February to “Show Some Love” for our Family Connects’ families as well as local partner organizations that work tirelessly to support our families, such as The Children’s Center, The Sharing House, and The Center for Women. If you are able, please consider donating unopened packs of diapers that will be dispersed amongst organizations supporting area families. Drop-off locations for diapers include The Family Place in both Brevard and Rosman, the Transylvania County Library - Youth Services Department, Mommy & Me on Rosman Hwy., the downtown location of Edward Jones, branch of Teo Whitlock, on 191 W. Main St., and Oskar Blues. 

Smart Start of Transylvania County is extremely grateful for the generous grants that make the Family Connects program possible. Our inaugural funder was Pisgah Health Foundation. Since then, program sustainability along with year two scaling including expansion of medical referrals and community outreach has been made possible through grants from The Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence, The Women for Women Giving Circle of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, and WNC Bridge Foundation. 

For more information about the Family Connects program, please contact the Program Manager, Jocelyn Turner Whitlock at communityalignment@smartstarttransylvania.org or (828) 577-1054.