SAN ANTONIO – Findings by the Bexar Facts-KSAT-Rivard Report poll showing that child abuse remains a critical concern, set the stage for a new and free video series by the Children’s Shelter during Mental Health Awareness Month.
Spokeswoman Anais Biera Miracle said the Children's Shelter has learned "to meet parents where they are, and that's in the virtual space of Facebook."
Miracle said the series comes at a time when COVID-19 has radically altered so many lives, leaving families stressed out by job loss or having to deal with the demands of a job and children under the same roof.
Miracle said the bi-weekly series on Monday and Wednesday at either 10 a.m. or noon through May, will offer parents, caregivers and others advice from their experts in dealing with difficult and even traumatic experiences involving children.
“People can be able to ask questions as well,” Miracle said.
Miracle said each session will be relatively brief, 5 to 15 minutes and will be posted on the shelter’s Facebook page for future viewing.
The advice won't be clinical in nature, she said, but rather practical tips for parents and their children.
For instance, the topic of self-care will suggest tips, such as deep breathing, exercise, having a daily schedule or ritual and taking a break.
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One of the shelter’s mentors who advises other dads through its Compadre y Compadre program, Justin Fincher said, “It sounds difficult, but you have to be patient even when it doesn’t feel like you can be.”
As a single parent working with shared custody of his two children doing distance learning, Fincher said, “The first thing you need to realize is that you’re probably frustrated at the same time they’re frustrated.”
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March. The first case confirmed in the U.S. was in mid-January and the first case confirmed in San Antonio was in mid-February.
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