Goshen Valley is one of 6 organizations in the state of Georgia awarded a 3-year funding cohort through the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services to start a Family Resource Center in Cherokee County.
Joining with and following the standards of the Georgia Family Support Network in October of 2022, Goshen Valley will provide primary prevention services to families in our community.
This Family Resource Center will provide low-cost to free parenting classes, support groups, teen support groups, life skills, behavior management, coordinated community referrals and therapy. We are so excited to begin this journey in serving families in need before they reach the need for DFCS intervention. Goshen Valley will work hand-in-hand with the Cherokee County School District, other community non-profits, local churches, and civic organizations to identify families who would like to participate.
Through this new Family Resource Center, Goshen Valley will take a family-centered, 2-generation approach to meet the holistic needs of every family. In being a member of the Georgia Family Support Network, Goshen Valley will utilize the 5 protective factors for strengthening families approach which include: Parental Resilience, Social Connections, Concrete Supports in Times of Need, Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development, and Social and Emotional Competence of Children.
We understand that foster care is too often the result of something terrible taking place in the life of a child. Now is the time for Goshen to play a more prominent role in keeping the circumstances from ever happening. Our leadership team guided by our Board of Directors is committed to extending its influence by providing a wide range of preventive services in the years to come. This work will be led by our Goshen Therapeutic Services division. The mobilization of our Family Resource Center and the support offered as a result will be at the heart of those efforts.
Zach Blend, CEO Goshen Valley Foundation
As Goshen Valley grows, so does our mission of providing peace and purpose to underserved youth and families. This awarded funding will allow Goshen Valley to become an accessible and affordable resource to the families in Cherokee and surrounding counties. This growth and the ability to secure family resource center funding is due to the great and constant support that comes from our community. We thank you, and we look forward to helping to make this community even stronger – together.