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Hudson Valley Gives 2021

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Hudson Valley Gives 2021

  • Wednesday, May 19, 2021, 12:00 AM - 11:45 PM

Hudson Valley Gives is Wednesday, May 19th!

Also known as HV Gives, this is a 24-hour event that unites hundreds of charities across 7 counties in 1 common goal: Give Where You Live!

This year, we are choosing to highlight our Relatives as Parents Program (known as RAPP), through Hudson Valley Gives.

What is RAPP?

Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County's Relatives as Parents Program is the only community-based program providing resources, education, and peer support to kinship families in Orange County. RAPP has been supporting relative caregivers since 1998 and since its inception; the program has grown to a network of over 200 families, a countywide agency coalition, a corps of Peer Mentor Volunteers, and a reputation for quality programming.

RAPP supports kinship caregivers through providing peer mentoring, legal consultations, crisis mental health services, intergenerational family events, and respite through summer camp opportunities. Programs are offered across the county at several locations prioritizing population centers of Middletown, Newburgh, and Port Jervis as well as connecting to families via their existing community connections i.e. schools and faith based organizations. 

During this current time of added stress and isolation due to the pandemic, we have continues to support our families by moving to virtual programming and responding to crisis and immediate needs.

We have learned that at their core, the very nature of kinship families is evolutionary. Grandparents and other relatives are often thrust into a primary caregiver role due to a crisis of the biological parent and most assume this responsibility thinking it is temporary, in some cases that may be true, but for many the children remain in their custody indefinitely. The RAPP program succeeds because it supports families through the full range of these life experiences and program participants are able to support each other because they reflect the many stages and varying dynamics of kinship caregiving.

Why is this program vital to the community?

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It is estimated that there are 4,000 kinship families in Orange County and of that 4,000, only a very small minority are involved with the formalized support systems such as the Department of Social Services (DSS). RAPP works closely with DSS to provide the additional support beyond the department's scope of work, to relative caregivers to ensure a safe, stable, and nurturing home environment for children that are involved with the system. Importantly, RAPP is not limited to working with families involved with our public social services systems and in fact plays a vital role in prevention of family's entry into this costly and often traumatic experience. As recognized by the Family First Prevention Act, children are more successful when they can be cared for by relative caregivers.

At any given time, RAPP works with over 200 kinship families of which 75% are grandparents as the primary caregiver for their grandchildren. RAPP caregivers are mostly an aging population, the majority of whom are women who have dealt with mental health, drug addiction, incarceration, violence and/or economic insecurity in their families. RAPP plays a vital role in supporting these caregivers to not only engage with their own healing but also in creating the caring and nurturing environment for the children to thrive.

Consider donating today so that we can continue to grow and support this program to help more kinship families in need throughout Orange County and the Hudson Valley!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW!

Learn More

https://www.hvgives.org/organizations/cornell-cooperative-extension-orange-county

Contact

Jill Van Aken
Association Community Liaison
Jd863@cornell.edu
(845) 344-1234, Ext.261

Last updated May 12, 2021