Parents need support now more than ever, and we’re still here to help

There’s something powerful about a home visitor getting on the floor with new parents and their young baby to model simple, daily interactions that can help their child’s brain make important connections. The power of that personal interaction is why our home visiting program is so effective. 

Like most in-person services during this time of social distancing, our work doesn’t look the same as it normally does. But parents need support now more than ever, and we’re still here to help. 

The root of our work is helping parents build home environments that nurture the healthy development of their children. When parents are stressed, being nurturing gets harder. And children, even at the youngest ages, reciprocate and mirror their parents' emotions, including negative ones, like stress and anxiety. Stress in children also reduces their body’s capacity for other functions that help them learn and grow. 

While we can’t be with the families we serve in person, our work with them remotely is still addressing their core needs of emotional support, guidance and connections to resources—all of which ease the burden on parents and in turn, lessens their stress. During this time, we have helped families navigate through job loss, family illness and empty store shelves. Our staff are true advocates, helping families face a variety of challenges. As one mom said, “Seeing our home visitor’s face every week, even on video, has given us something to look forward to. Our daughter smiles so big whenever she sees her on the screen!” 

The outcome is impactful: Children in happier, more stable homes. 

Technology is proving to be a powerful tool in our work. Over the last two months, our staff have conducted nearly 1,000 virtual home visits, and 85 percent of the families we serve have participated in at least one virtual visit. We’ve also distributed over $12,000 in vital supplies to families in need, including diapers, wipes, baby food and hygiene supplies. 

Right as the pandemic started, we expedited the launch of a text message-based mentorship program for new mothers called Nurture® TN. We’ve successfully enrolled new mothers from across the state with the help of referral partners, including large hospitals, pregnancy centers and social service agencies. And we just expanded the program to include prenatal curriculum so we can support moms starting as early as their third trimester of pregnancy. 

Our Parent Helpline and Domestic Violence Helpline continue to be fully operational, and we have plans to add a texting feature to the DV Helpline to make it easier for those in need to reach out safely.  

Our flexibility and ingenuity as an agency has allowed us to adapt our services to the needs of families over the years, and we’re proving we can do it once again, even during this unprecedented crisis. We always focus on serving families in a way where they feel most comfortable and where we can be the greatest asset to them. With that as our baseline, we’ve modified our programs and how they’re provided, but the value and impact of our work has not changed.