Ellsworth Area Communities for Children & Youth

Please join the Ellsworth Area Communities for Children & Youth at our next meeting on WEDNESDAY, September 19th, 2007, 4:30pm to 6:00pm at Downeast Health Services Inc, 52 Christian Ridge Road, Ellsworth.

Nancy Hunt-Bankole, new Executive Director for the Emmaus Center in Ellsworth, will speak on some of the challenges faced by families staying in her facility. This will be an opportunity for all service providers to meet Nancy and discuss how the social service community can help provide protective factors to increase the health and well-being of children and families staying at the Emmaus Center. Protective factors are conditions that serve as buffers, helping parents who might otherwise be at risk to find resources, supports or coping strategies that allow them to parent effectively, even under stress. All parents and caregivers share a deep concern and love for their children.

If time allows, we will continue our work-session to develop a consistent message and plan for our children, our families and our communities to build the protective factors outlined in the 2007 Resource packet “Promoting Healthy Families in Our Community”.

Protective factors are positive attributes that strengthen all families, not just those at risk, so families do not feel singled out or judged. Focusing on protective factors, helps develop positive relationships. Parents then feel more comfortable seeking out extra support if needed. The first protective factor is Nurturing and Attachment: The importance of early bonding, as well as nurturing throughout childhood. Building a close bond helps parents better understand, respond to, and communicate with their children.

In order to prepare materials for all participants, please call Candy Eaton at 667-5304, ext 261, to let us know of your planned attendance. Please bring your copy of the 2007 Resource Packet with you … additional copies will be available for those who did not receive them from the Hancock County Children’s Council in April.

The Ellsworth Area Communities for Children & Youth, a collaboration coordinated through the Hancock County Children’s Council, a program of Downeast Health Services Inc., locally represents a statewide approach to solving the problems that children face in Maine by bringing together local community leadership and young people to increase the social assets available to improve educational attainment and achievement. For additional information on this Maine initiative, log on to our local Ellsworth Area Communities for Children website at www.downeasthealth.org.