KANSAS CITY, Mo — A nonprofit in Kansas City, Missouri, is helping families heal from trauma and bridge generational gaps.
Center for Conflict Resolution started the “Generation to Generation” program in Oct. of 2021 to give grandparents left to raise their grandchildren the tools they need to take on the role.
“I know some of them are raising their grandchildren, cause they don’t want to see them in the system,” Merlia Betts, a grandparent in the program said. “They need help, they need resources, they need to figure out how to deal with these kids and it’s hard.”
Many of Betts’ classmates are grandparents like herself — worried about the world out children are growing up in.
Karen Slaughter, one of the facilitators in the program, says it aims to give grandparents a safe place for support, education and guidance. Many of them found themselves in their situation not by choice.
“Any parent that buries a child has a tremendous burden already and if after that burial, they are taking on raising a grandchild, then they have exponential burdens,” Slaughter said.
Executive Director, Annette Lantz, says so many children in our community lose their parents to incarceration, violence and poverty. It is easier than ever for children to become a part of the issue.
“It’s never just the two people who are affected by that, it is the whole neighborhood,” Lantz said. “It’s a group of people that we can’t ignore.”
Through guided counseling, trauma healing and education, the facilitators hope they can strengthen family structures and break the cycle of violence.
Co-facilitator Jaylon Verse, says the work that they are doing not only strengthens the families involved, but the entire community.
“It’s become a very "not in my backyard" kind of situation where I only care if it pertains to me," Verser said. "And the reality is, that if my neighbor is going through something, what they are going through very much may end up on my front porch the next day."
It is a sentiment Betts can get behind. She hopes the world can become a better place for our next generation if we care and work together.
“It takes a village to raise them and we don’t have villages anymore," Betts said.
