GRANDPARENT GROUP CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY

Hazel Jackson didn't think twice about taking on the responsibility of raising her great-grandson. After all, if she hadn't stepped forward when her granddaughter could no longer care for the child, there was no other family member who could take him in.

"I don't know where he would be now if I hadn't been able to take care of him," Jackson said about raising Patrick Delany Chapman, her 10-year-old great-grandson whom she has raised since he was 2 months old.

In addition to Patrick, Jackson also was the primary caretaker for at least part of the lives of five of her 20 grandchildren. And she raised 17 children of her own.

Jackson is among the growing number of grandparents, and in her case great-grandparents, who are raising their grandchildren. According to 1997 Census figures, 6 percent of children younger than 18 in the United States (3.9 million children) live in grandparent-headed households, and in almost half of those households, the children's parents are not present.

"Sometimes it's rough," said Jackson, of the social, financial, educational and legal challenges of raising grandchildren. But Jackson has found help through the GRAND Group.

On Thursday the GRAND (Grandparents R A Natural Delight) support group will celebrate its first anniversary of providing a place where grandparents such as Jackson can seek information, learn about resources and find fellowship, said Karen Wills, one of the coordinators of the support group.

The group is open to grandparents caring for their grandchildren, whether the grandparents are the primary caretakers or care for the grandchildren part-time.

The group, which meets at 1:30 p.m. the third Thursday of the month at the First Baptist Church activity building, is an outgrowth of the Family Strengths Team, a joint effort of Southeast Missouri State University and Caring Communities, said Wills, a parent educator.

"The support group started because we saw an increasing need for support and information among the growing population of grandparents raising their grandchildren," Wills said.

The goal is to provide education and support to help with the life changes these grandparents go through and make those changes smoother, Wills said.

"Grandparents who are raising grandchildren, or anyone else's children, have all the routine problems any parent would have plus some parents may not face," said Dr. Shelba Branscum, Southeast faculty supervisor for the Family Strengths Team.

Because they are older than most parents, there may be health problems and their energy level may not be as high as with younger parents, Branscum said.

There may be financial problems if the grandparent is on a fixed income and receives no financial help caring for the child.

Jackson said she works two jobs to make ends meet at her house.

Branscum said there may also be legal problems if the grandparent isn't the legal guardian of the child, which is the case in many situations.

The GRAND Group tries to provide information in all these areas.

Wills said in the past year, speakers at support group meetings have included an attorney speaking on legal rights; school officials on safety, communicating with teachers and helping grandchildren choose fit friends; and a representative from the Area Agency on Aging on community resources.

Jackson, who has attended support group meetings since GRAND Group formed last May, said she has learned a lot from the people who present programs at the monthly meetings.

But she's also learned from the other group members who attend the meetings.

"We talk about our grandkids and how we handle them," said Jackson. "Everybody tells their side, where they go, what they do, problems they have."

An average of nine people show up for the monthly meetings, Wills said.

Jackson said that while few members knew one another when they began meeting last year, they have become friends.

"The group really helps me out," Jackson said.

For more information on the GRAND Group, call 651-3747.