Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Winter 2000)

Too bad children and life don't come with instruction manuals. "If we had directions for what to do in every circumstance, we could probably go through life without snags," says Deborah Howard-Brewer.

The center supports, informs and educates families wishing to improve the quality of their lives. It's a place where people can ask questions or turn for help. 

A worried mom calls: "How do I talk to my teenage son?" Another asks how she can help her child learn to read when she can't read herself. Calls like these are directed to Family Center staff or other community resources that help people with specific family-related issues.

Everything the Family Center does is based on a circular model with the child in the center, the family surrounding the child, and the community surrounding the family. The Family Center is "not a 'fix-it' organization," Howard-Brewer explains, "but a community-building organization that offers support and teaches families how to meet their own needs and goals."

Take the Parent Education Network, for example. It's actually a collaboration of parenting programs that exist throughout Larimer County. All have the same objective: to help parents develop parenting skills that will improve family relationships, communication and cooperation. But each program serves a particular population, location, or need. A matrix listing these resources helps parents choose the program best suited for them at any particular time.

Family Center programs include family education, youth and teen connections and family support. Some are offered in the home, such as Parents as Teachers, which helps educate parents of infants and toddlers. Others, like Baby & Me playgroups, family nights and homework assistance, take place at the Family Center. The advocacy service Fathers Matter helps dads navigate "the system" and learn about their children with the help of a dads' advocate and lawyer who's positioned at the Family Center.

Although Family Center services are offered at little or no cost to families, the center strives to better serve needy families. Its new child-care facility, El Nidito (the little nest), accommodates infants and toddlers six weeks to three years old. Howard-Brewer hopes the facility will serve all families, including those who are challenged financially or in crisis.
"All people have gifts to offer," she says. "When we see people as treasures, we really begin to look at them differently."

The Family Center receives funding from the state of Colorado, United Way, AmeriCorps and several other organizations, as well as individual donations.