RMH receives $5K grant to prevent, treat family violence

The RMH Community Health Family Partnership has received a $5,000 grant from the Family and Children’s Trust Fund (FACT) to provide free home visits to new moms and their infants with high needs and to provide a support program for all new mothers.

The FACT grant will help offer services to all new parents in the community and home visits to families with the greatest needs, said Katherine Montgomery, manager, RMH Community Health.

“I’m glad we can offer this service to parents who need it most,” Montgomery said. “It offers new parents the support they need in a very timely manner to give them a healthy beginning. Having a new baby to care for can be very stressful. Our trained staff are experts in what’s going on with mom and baby, and they offer multiple resources and guidance.”

In home visits, trained staff help new moms make follow-up appointments with their pediatrician and obstetrician. They teach techniques for staying calm when the baby is crying and educate parents about car seat safety, caring for siblings, assessing birth control options and transitioning back to work. Staff also provide moms with a community resource guide.

The RMH Community Health Family Partnership consists of:

· Hand-In-Hand Resource Mothers—a mentoring program for pregnant and parenting teens, provided in English and Spanish.
· Healthy Families of the Blue Ridge—an evidence-based, voluntary home visiting prevention program for high-risk families expecting their first child. Services are available to families for five years in English and Spanish.
· New Moms Ask a Nurse Support Group—a weekly support group, free for all parents with a child under the age of one.
· Parenting Education and Support Program—evidence-based classes, “The Incredible Years,” are offered in English and Spanish for parents of children under 18. Programs for children run concurrently.

Since 1986, the Family and Children’s Trust Fund (FACT) has worked to encourage public/private partnerships to prevent and treat family violence in Virginia. The Family and Children’s Trust Fund is administered by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor to raise and distribute funds to local communities for family violence prevention, treatment and public awareness throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.