Polk County Family Resource Centers have held "play and learn" events before, but this is the first aimed at helping families prepare for disaster events, said Jennifer Compeau, family resource coordinator at the East Grand Forks center.
"They're really great," she said.
There will be three disaster readiness play and learn events in the month of September. They will be held 4 to 5 p.m. Sept. 15 in Crookston at the library; 4 to 5 p.m. Sept. 16 in East Grand Forks at the EGF FRC; and 3:30 to 5 p.m. Sept. 22 in Fosston at the Civic Center.
Polk County FRC has partnered with Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota for the events. LSNM will provide materials and a presentation by a disaster readiness specialist, Kayla Niedzielski.
Compeau said Polk County FRC began building a partnership with LSNM in April. The Niedzielski came in to do training with staff, which generated the idea to have a disaster readiness play and learn, further encouraged by the August tornado in Grand Forks.
"I was just like, we should definitely look into doing that," she said.
The events will include information on how to connect with FEMA, how to create a family emergency plan, emergency meeting places, important phone numbers and other information one might not think of during an emergency, Compeau said. There will also be an activity for families to do together, but Compeau doesn't know what it will be yet.
More play and learn events are ahead for Polk County FRC, such as opening pumpkins and making pumpkin pudding in October, repeating from previous events where families could also take home pumpkin seeds to bake. Events have also included water safety with making beach towels, stranger danger with local law enforcement, family game nights and others Compeau said. The events are an opportunity to have parents and caregivers further connect with their children (ages 0-18) and are done in connection with community partners.
The events are one way Polk County FRC works to create a safe and welcoming space for families, one of the goals of the organization. The centers provide access to community resources to support families, refer them to services and help with applications or other paperwork parents and caregivers might need assistance with. All of FRC's services are free to the public.
Compeau said Polk County FRC focuses on five protective factors for strengthening families — parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, knowledge of parenting and child development and social and emotional competence of children.
"A lot of what we do at the play and learns is model healthy interactions and different easy to connect with our kids," she said. "Also helping parents to navigate big emotions for kids is really important for us, too."
There will also be an annual resource fair and celebration in November, which connects families with community partners and has activities and games for kids.
The East Grand Forks center opened in December 2023 , part of a national network of support centers for families, based on the National Family Support Network model. It was the second center to open in Polk County , following the opening of the Crookston center in June of the same year. Polk County was the second county in Minnesota to open centers, preceded by Scott County two years before it.
The Polk County FRC is also part of Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, a community action agency based in Crookston with the mission to improve the quality of life for people and communities. Its primary service area is west Polk, west Marshall and Norman counties, though it has expanded through Minnesota and North Dakota .
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