Anne Peretz spilled the tea about her new book - Opening Up: The Parenting Journey, about the program's humble beginnings, and her determination to make dependable, safe spaces for parents from low-income families to network and find the support they needed to thrive.
“It took us about 15 years to really get the Parenting Journey going," Anne told us. "We were in low-income housing communities and it took time for the community to really understand our presence there and open up to what we were doing. I felt strongly that this was needed and that it was something I was meant to do. So, my team and I stuck with it.”
Now 35+ years later, more than 2800 families across the US and abroad have grown stronger thanks to this life-changing program.
Rolando Fuentes MSW and regional Parenting Journey facilitator highlighted the curriculum’s emphasis on building a trusting community of families growing as parents together. "I hear from families who've graduated from past sessions often about their challenges and progresses,” he says, “and how they remain connected to other families from their cohort.”
“Each time I lead a group through this I learn something new about myself that strengthens my parenting,” said panelist Patty Hernandez, Jubilee JumpStart PJ facilitator and Family Engagement Manager. “It helped me recognize how I was parented, what I don’t want to repeat with my children and that I have a choice to do things differently.” Patty is honored to make that weekly oh-so-scarce "me- time" special for each participant.
The program has helped Dominique Spencer, a PJ alumnus and Jubilee JumpStart Director of Education Services remember what it was like to be a child, which in turn helps her to better relate to what her children are going through. It has also strengthened her ability to connect with and support Jubilee JumpStart parents. In her own words, “the experience led me to think of parenting as a practice that you need coaching and support through; that you need to develop and grow as a parent as you do in any profession.”
We are so grateful to Anne Peretz, Rolando Fuentes, Patty Hernandez and Dominique Spencer for sharing their Parenting Journey stories. We are equally grateful to those who attended and to YOU, our dedicated supporters. Thank you!
Get your copy of Opening Up: The Parenting Journey AND support Jubilee JumpStart programs at AmazonSmile!