A place for parents to connect with other parents
WATSONVILLE Raices y Carino, or RC Fam for short, a new bilingual, multicultural center for families, will be open to community from Sunday. It will function as an area for activities with families along with classes and education workshops for both children and parents. Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties. But, it’s not just a venue to take classes or participate in activities it is also a sanctuary family members who require a break from the demands of parenthood.
Julianne Bellin is a volunteer coordinator in Raices y Carino. She admitted that it can be difficult to manage a situation when you have done all the right things but your child is having a difficult day. “The RC Fam center will offer a safe place for parents where they can go to relax, have some tea, and connect with other people who can help them. The grand opening of the RC Fam center begins at p.m. on Sunday and will feature an open event with raffles and raffles. There will also be the opportunity to meet with providers. Also, there will be taco trucks located across the street from the building. Residents are encouraged to attend the event to get more details about the space and what it has to offer.
The Family Birth and Bonding Center is set to offer a variety of programs, that range from parent support groups to postnatal yoga , as well as signing workshops for infants. The directors who established the center, Nora Yerena and Juliana Reyes, have long careers of educating and helping families. Yerena Doula, who is also a mother of six kids, is an active member of the Monterey and Santa Cruz Maternal Mental Health Task Forces and has worked as a teacher for parents of those in recovery through The Parenting Connection of Monterey County since its beginning.
San Benito counties. Yerena declared, “I’m proud to connect three counties of resource.” “We have broken down the barriers of institutions of racism and trauma across generations by uniting families of different of different languages, cultures, and cultures. All of us are influencing one another for the good by joining forces. Reyes, a teacher and RC Fam director is proud to be an immigrant mother. As a Pajaro Valley Unified Schools District Coordinator and a parent educator, First consultant, and Head Start teacher.
The English Learner Advisory Committee and Spanish playgroups within the Live Oak Resource Center are run by Reyes. Reyes sees her involvement at RC Fam as a natural expansion of her efforts to help families. “This stage of life can be beautiful, but also fragile,” said Reyes. “Mothers require assistance and village.” RC Fam works in partnership with community organizations like Birth Network of Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz County Public Health Department, Positive Discipline Community Resources, Bay Area Babywearing Network, Parenting Connection of Monterey County, Shared Adventures, We Get It, MENtors The Fit .
Individuals can partner with the center and offer workshops or support groups for free which range from fatherhood care as well as grief and motherhood wellbeing, maternal and natal mental and physical wellbeing to lactation workshops and activities such as queer gaming nights, tabletop role-playing and assistance for their children’s emotional well-being. There are rooms available for private medical and physical appointments as well as a library of babywearing products and enrichment toys. “There’s going be something to suit everyone,” said Bellin. Bellin said “And even if something isn’t there in the meantime, we’ll be sure to have what the community requires.”
The moral
Reyes believes that her job as a RC Fam volunteer RC Fam is a continuation of her care for families. Reyes stated, “This stage in life can be both very exciting as well as a bit scary.” “Mothers require help and support, and they need the support of a community.” RC Fam partners with community organizations like Santa Cruz County Public Health Department as well as the Birth Network of Santa Cruz County. Positive Discipline Community Resources, Bay Area Babywearing Network, Parenting Connection of Monterey County. Shared Adventures. We Get It. MENtors. Get Fit.
