I was recently invited to spend time at a great partner
agency that serves young children and their families in Pierce
County: Hope Sparks. Led by CEO David Duea, Hope Sparks mission is to
“strengthen families by inspiring courage and confidence to make a lasting
change.” While their programs provide valuable services for children
like counseling, eating disorder recovery and early identification of learning
disorders, it is the focus the programs have on the parents and caregivers
that David feels creates lasting change for families.
Parenting can be hard! Talk to anyone involved with raising
and parenting a toddler and you’ll hear frustrations and uncertainty. But
when the parent or caregiver is also dealing with life stressors like job loss,
mental illness, or challenges with a child with special needs, the added
supports provided by programs at Hope Sparks make all of the difference in the
world. At Hope Sparks, staff members are there to help identify possible
supports and services the families may need to help eliminate some of these
stressors, including referring the parents to call South Sound 2-1-1. They even have
a boutique-style room called Hope’s Closet that low-income parents can shop to
help provide food, clothing and accessories that can make a big
difference.
Hope Sparks uses evidenced-based practices such as Promoting First
Relationships in some of their programs. By working with parents to establish
realistic expectations for their child’s behavior at each age and stage,
counselors use methods to encourage the parent to talk more clearly and positively
with the child the entire relationship shifts and children thrive.
Volunteers of United Way of Pierce County made the decision to
fund Hope Sparks Healing Hearts program for the new 2014-2016 investment cycle. One aspect of this program is to offer Trauma-Focused
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy where counselors follow clear steps to take the
child through a healing process. I visited the play therapy room where
children tell stories with figurines and a sand tray, arranging human and
animal figures to tell a story about their life. There is also a
Pinterest-Style puppet theater, built by volunteers during United Way's Day of
Caring, that children use to communicate through play with puppets.
Parenting can be hard. But parents and caregivers are not alone. Thanks to caring, focused programs like this one, there is hope.
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