Poplar Bluff families should mark their calendars for free hot dogs, games and crafts this weekend, plus a chance to connect and apply for vital services. Parent Link is hosting Family Fun Fest from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, June 24, on the parking lot of First United Methodist Church, Poplar Bluff.
Parent Link is an extension of the University of Missouri, which is a statewide grant-funded nonprofit program. “We basically are building bridges for families to get those resources they need,” said Jennifer Sheridan, a Parent Link asset navigator. “We’re inviting other community resources, different doctors and services in the surrounding area with whom families sometimes are looking to connect. Maybe they’re not familiar with the resources in the area. It’s an event for families to come talk to people, get information and have fun with their kids making memories, and do an arts and crafts project.”
There will be a snow-cone truck, bounce houses, games and activities, cotton candy and hot dogs.
“We’re going to be grilling and giving away the food,” Sheridan said.
Organizers are planning for at least 200-300 people to attend. Presently, about 15 community resources have agreed to participate.
Sheridan said, “We have some we are still waiting on. We have plenty of room, we’re not hurting for space (since) it’s an outside event. So hopefully we can get a few more service providers there.”
As one of the statewide access navigators, Sheridan said, “we assist families connecting them with resources and assisting them with applications and state applications such as Medicaid, childcare assistance, SNAP, TANF, things along those lines. We help families find the resources they are needing like food banks; if they’re needing to look for local childcare, a doctor.”
A kinship navigator program does the same thing, but serves strictly families who are raising non-biological children.
Some families don’t know where to go to find those services or don’t know who to ask, but meeting people at an event helps put a face to a resource like a doctor’s office or a dentist’s office, Sheridan said.
“When you put a face to it, it’s not as scary for them to call to make an appointment or to go in,” she said. “So really just connecting with those resources, becoming familiar with what is available to them is our goal.”
Parent Link’s services have expanded the last year.
“Whether it’s grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, neighbor, they provide those services,” she said. “We provide support groups. We have counseling on staff. We have a lending library. We have so much.”
The navigators work from home and contact families via phone, text, email. They receive referrals on families from a centralized site. The site provides the local workers different assistance to help the families filling out applications.
Sheridan stressed the event is for everyone whether they have kids or not.
“It’s for everybody, so come down, it’s outside,” Sheridan said. “We’re handing out hot dogs, you can meet service providers or just get out of the house. We don’t have an age restriction on families we serve. They don’t have to have children in the home. Our name, Parent Link, puts up a flag for people. That isn’t a requirement we serve everybody. We don’t have any restrictions. We are a free service.”
“It’s very family-oriented,” she continued. “We focus on the families we’re serving. We have our team, we call ourselves a family because we really take that approach with everything we do, whether it’s working with each other or working with the public. We feel like once you come in our bubble, you’re part of our family.”
Sheridan has served more than 200 families herself so far this year. Since there are three navigators, ”we’ve probably easily served 1,000 families this year,” she said.
The access navigators are located in Southeast Missouri. Two live in Poplar Bluff, and one lives in the Bootheel. Kinship navigators are located in the Bootheel and in Columbia.
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