52 families graduated from the Upstate Family Resource Center’s (UFRC) Family Solution Program (FSP), an evidence based program available to School District 2 families. Running throughout the course of the school year, the district utilizes this program by referring children who are causing incidents within the schools. Just this year, the UFRC has received 75 referrals from schools.
During this 10 week course of group therapy, parents and children work on increasing their communicative skills and altering their perceptions in order to foster positive relationships with each other. Families participate in interactive and engaging activities to discuss topics such as: education, communication, peer pressure, anger management, and more.
Thursday, June 6th marked the end of the last cycle of Family Solutions for this school year. This graduation session was very special because the children shared essays on what they enjoyed the most, as well as what they’ve learned in the program. Hearing the essays was rewarding to those present because they got to witness the impact that family therapy had on the children.
The purpose of FSP is to strengthen families, their relationships with the school, and to reduce the number of incidents at the school.
Olivia Barnwell and her six year old son Kamden are graduates of Family Solutions. At a spring event, Barnwell spoke about how Family Solutions helped to breakdown the communication barrier between her and her autistic son.
According to Ms. Barnwell, the group sessions helped her gain understanding of how her son perceives her actions and words, and she was able to find a better way to communicate based off that.
“It is so important that if you ever feel alone as a parent, that you have a safe place in your community to seek help and advice. The UFRC has been just that for my family.”
