When parents have access to community supports, they can take comfort in knowing that they have a place to turn for advice, resources, or a empathetic ear when times are tough. Circle of Parents, a statewide program of FamilyWise for the past 25 years, offers parents that supportive space to share parenting challenges and successes, build social relationships, and strengthen their families’ resilience.
For the past three years, MJ Nappin has been facilitating Circle of Parents groups and other parent support programs at the Center for Family Unity in Owatanna. After decades of experience raising her own children and grandchildren, MJ felt called to spend her retirement helping families. “If my kids needed support, I would hope someone would be there for them,” she says.
The type of support Circle of Parents offers is unique, shares MJ. “A lot of programs have an agenda, but Circle of Parents doesn’t,” she explains. “If that night we’re there and everybody wants to talk about potty training, we can. It’s their group.” With the Circle of Parents model, groups are often facilitated by parents from the community, and each group is different based on the needs of parents. The groups are nonjudgemental spaces where everyone has a chance to make their voice heard.
Participation in Circle of Parents has ebbed and flowed during MJ’s time as a facilitator. “A lot of our parents work two and three jobs,” explains MJ, making it hard for them to find and access supportive resources. In Owatanna, transportation can be a barrier due to limited public transit options, especially in the evenings. Social isolation is a significant issue for parents. “There are so many people that don’t [have support]. Families aren’t around, don’t have a lot of friends, especially if they aren’t in the work world.”
Circle of Parents is there for them, and MJ hopes more people will take advantage of the program, because she’s seen the positive difference that parent-to-parent support can make for families. She has seen parents create fresh starts by replacing unhelpful relationships with new, supportive friendships, and watched parents learn from new information, strategies, and resources shared within the group. “If they can just take one little thing from [the group] to help, I’m happy,” says MJ. She knows that parenting is hard, and if we can help parents, we are helping kids, too.
Circle of Parents participant Jennifer’s story in a recent blog post shows what is possible for both parents and their kids through the program. By hearing from others in the group and sharing her own experiences, Jennifer built confidence in her parenting and gained strategies that helped her set expectations with her kids and strengthen relationships within her family.
There are more than 30 Circle of Parents groups operating across Minnesota. Learn more about Circle of Parents and how to get involved as a participant or as a facilitator on our website.