Parent Wellness

Operation Shoestring believes that by teaching children and inspiring families, we all rise together. To that end, we’re in frequent contact with Shoestring families just to check-in, listen, and assess needs that inform how we serve them. For example, when there’s a crisis, like the 2022 Jackson water crisis when families went without potable water for weeks, we quickly contact each Shoestring family to assess their needs and concerns in order to be better able to connect families to helpful resources. 

Operation Shoestring’s commitment to community-driven programs is reflected in our programming for parents. Based on feedback and data from our community, this work has evolved over the years to center on family wellness. In order to connect families with the health services prioritized by families, we partner with clinical health providers, community health organizations, food systems, and other key stakeholders to help create an ecosystem of support for the families in our neighborhood.

We asked parent coordinator Star Pool to describe what her experiences offering intensive support groups for mental health and hosting nutrition and physical education classes has illuminated for her. She said that “one word that comes to mind is “persistence.” Shoestring parents are really putting in the work to become healthier. I love how in each week of our nutrition class, the parents take the initiative to better understand the benefits of healthy eating,  and then take what they’ve learned home and share it with their family. They choose to show up in spite of all the things they have going on, and that means a lot to me.”