From balancing a budget to parenting classes, a new center is open in Syracuse to help families navigate a number of challenges.
Father of three Anthony Rivera is working as a family peer advocate at the Hillside Family Opportunity Center. He said the work is meaningful to him because he’s had firsthand experiences with the challenges of parenting.
"It is all heartbreaking because I've been there,” he said. “And had I had a family peer advocate, it may have made it easier for me to find that path."
The center pairs enrolled families with a peer advocate to help them evaluate and work toward their goals.
Program manager Kim Kromer Murphy said workers offer a number of services, including parenting classes and support groups.
"We're looking for families who are experiencing multiple stressors right now, who really don't have the resources and aren't connected to the resources, so they can come here, and we can help that connection happen," she said,
Hillside encourages parents to bring their children with them. The new center is filled with comfortable seating areas, places for students to study, and toys for kids of all ages.
Family Peer Advocate Supervisor Serenity Hellinger said many parents struggle with social isolation in the wake of the pandemic, and she wants them to know they’re not alone.
"It's so powerful to sit in a room with somebody who knows what you're going through, and that's part of what we want to do here at the family opportunity center," Hellinger said.
Rivera said he knows it can be hard to ask for help, but he wants families to know the center is a judgment-free zone.
"We're not telling parents that they need to know everything,” he said. “We're telling them that they can learn, and that they can survive, and strive, and thrive, with the help and the support of the Family Opportunity Center."
To learn more about the center or how you can enroll, click here.
