First 5 San Benito celebrated the opening of its Family Impact Center Jan. 14, the same day the San Benito County Board of Supervisors declared January as Positive Parenting Awareness Month.
The center, located at 351 Tres Pinos Road, Suite 103A in Hollister, is a place where families can gather to take part in a variety of activities. These programs include “Talk, Read, Sing,” which promotes literacy and language skills in toddlers, and “Promoting First Relationships,” a class that teaches parents how babies communicate. Rows of board games line a wall at the center, and a breastfeeding room is available to mothers.
First 5’s partners, including the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, the San Benito Behavioral Health Services Agency, the San Benito County Human Services Department, San Benito County Migrant Center and the YMCA, will also be offering services at the center.
“We have a dedicated group of partners who are doing it from the heart,” said First 5 Executive Director Lisa Faulkner.
The California State Assembly on Jan. 13 also proclaimed January as Positive Parenting Awareness Month. San Benito County Sheriff’s Capt. Eric Taylor said he and Faulkner traveled to Sacramento to meet with Assemblymember Robert Rivas and Sen. Anna Caballero.
Taylor stressed the role of parenting in keeping children out of trouble. He said many children turn to gangs to find a sense of worth because they do not find it at home.
“We’re trying to change the dynamics of family from inside the house,” he said. “Hopefully, if we can raise the love and caring inside the family home through positive parenting, they don’t have to go find it out on the street and they won’t be taken advantage of.”
First 5 is funded by Proposition 10, the 1998 voter-approved measure that added a 50-cent-per-pack tax on tobacco products. Revenue is disbursed to organizations that support the early development of children.
First 5’s Family Fun Nights are beginning at the center on Thursdays and Fridays. For information and reservations, email Janalle Davis at ja*****@fi******.org. For information about First 5 San Benito, visit first5sanbenito.org.
