Grandparents Raising Grandchildren chairman Howard Grossman, left, sits at the head table while Pa. State Reps. Bridget M. Kosierowski and Eddie Day Pashinski answer questions from the audience at The Woodlands during the 2023 conference.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Sunday Dispatch
PITTSTON — Howard Grossman has been on a mission for the last 22 years to give grandparents raising grandchild (GRG) a voice. It’s been a long, arduous process, but he feels like he’s made progress.
The fight, however, is far from over.
Grossman said there are 21,000 grandparent families raising grandchildren in the seven counties making up the Pocono Northeast, 90,000 families in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and 2.5 million nationwide.
To date, there are not enough support groups in northeastern PA and the need is great, Grossman emphasizes.
“The support groups are very, very important to grandparents,” Grossman said. “They meet, not in a necessary focus way, but they meet as needed.”
There is a support group in Luzerne County and one in Lackawanna County, but that is not enough, in Grossman’s mind.
“We need more, especially in the outer counties,” he added. “The need for support groups has not gone away, it’s probably increased because more people are aware of what GRG is all about now, so we need to encourage that more support groups be established.”
The process to start a group is not difficult, according to Grossman. All it takes is one or two people from different counties saying they need a GRG support group and work with that county as much as possible.
“What happens in a support group is that a grandparent with five or six other grandparent families sit around a table with a facilitator and the support group learns a lot while focusing on what their problems are,” Grossman added, as they share stories and ideas.
While the effort to build up the GRG network has been gaining speed, the area of legislative help has not.
“The Area on Aging has a little bit of funding for grandparents who can prove the need for money, in most cases, they would be, it would be a Kinship Fund, but the fund is very limited,” Grossman said. “Most grandparents need a lot more than what’s available in the Kinship Fund.”
Grossman believes funding is key to the GRG community on the federal and/or state level, but he stated it is hard to get any legislation passed with money attached to it.
Conference rich in information
One area legislator who has been a champion for GRG for many years in PA is State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski.
Pashinski is slated to be the keynote speaker at the 18th annual GRG of NEPA conference at the Woodlands Inn and Resort from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18. The event will include snacks and a hot lunch. Grandparents raising grandchildren are admitted for free.
The conference is rich in information for grandparents placed in the difficult position of raising their grandchild.
“Eddie Day, last year, had a piece of legislation that he was trying to get approved, but couldn’t get approved for funding for grandparents,” Grossman said. “He’s trying again this year and it’s nearing the end of the term so I’m not sure it could happen this year.”
Grossman said he has high hopes ofGov. Shapiro in coming through for grandparents in the future.
Another problem area is the issue where grandparents can no longer help grandchildren.
“For example, let’s say it’s a grandmother raising a grandchild or grandchildren and the grandmother, unfortunately, passes away, so what happens to that child or children? Has the grandmother prepared for that scenario?” Grossman asks. “It’s an area that is greatly important and I would like to see an answer to that type of situation.”
As mentioned earlier, Grossman would like to expand GRG support in the outlining areas as well as move into other counties besides Luzerne and Lackawanna.
Local support
“Luzerne County is fortunate, there is a Pittston support group that I’ve been working with, two support groups in Wilkes-Barre and one that has been revitalized in Hazleton and even one in Wyoming County,” Grossman acknowledged.
One aid Grossman suggested for help and networking is KinConnector that was created four years ago providing a wealth of information for grandparents.
According to the KinConnector website, kinconnector.org, its mission is to “provide guidance, advice, and support for grandparents raising grandchild and other relative and non-relative Kinship Caregivers.”
Continuing with the website, “KinConnector offers information, referral and follow-up services to grandparents and other relatives raising children so they can understand and effectively use the benefits and services that they or the children need.”
In addition to the local conference held at the Woodlands, Grossman would like to see a statewide GRG conference established; it’s an initiative he’s been working on for some time now. He feels KinConnector would be a great source to make it happen.
The local upcoming conference will have at least 10 sponsors bring in valuable funds to make the conference happen.
Grossman said there would be 25 to 35 resource tables for grandparents to utilize in answering questions in aiding them while raising their grandchildren.
“Most of the grandparents attending the conference take the time to visit the resource tables to pick up information as well as handouts,” Grossman said. “The resource tables are very crucial.”
This year, as noted, in addition to keynote speaker Pashinski, the Director of the Luzerne Foundation, David Pedri, will also be a speaker.
For information on GRG or the upcoming conference, visit www.grgnepa.org.
