It is the mission of Family Resources of Cherokee County to join hands with families by providing support, information, and education so that together we build strong, healthy, productive families.

Guidelines for Operation:

1. Staff and families work together in relationships based on equality and respect.
2. Staff enhance families’ capacity to support the growth and development of all family members-adults, youth, and children.
3. Families are resources to their own members, to other families, to programs, and to communities.
4. Programs affirm and strengthen families’ cultural, racial, and linguistic identities and enhance their ability to function in a multicultural society.
5. Programs are embedded in their communities and contribute to the community-building process.
6. Programs advocate with families for services and systems that are fair, responsive, and accountable to the families served.
7. Practitioners work with families to mobilize formal and informal resources to support family development.
8. Programs are flexible and continually responsive to emerging family and community issues.
9. Principles of family support are modeled in all program activities, including planning, governance, and administration.

History:

Family Resources of Cherokee County began under the umbrella of REACH Inc. around 1994.  The organization became a separate entity in 1999 when we were incorporated and attained our 501(c)3, legal tax-exempt status from the IRS.

Family Resources’ original development was in response to a community needs assessment completed in 1994.  Through focus groups led in the various communities of the county and a later Task Force group, it was determined that families were having a hard time navigating the system of service delivery.  Often they would get frustrated and just give up, never finding what they needed. Thus, the original goal was to provide a central location that families could call or come to for information on accessing services.

In 1996 the first employee of the developing Family Resource Center was hired to facilitate the Task Force meetings.  In one of the original Task Force meetings an employee of the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce presented this case as one true example that illustrates how families get frustrated with the service delivery system:  A man was trying to find an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that he could attend in Cherokee County or the nearby area.  He contacted the library and was told to call the Chamber of Commerce.  There they asked him to call Smoky Mountain Mental Health.  They told him to contact the Cherokee Scout because “they’re supposed to have a list”. The man finally gave up because he was not able to get accurate information at any location he called.  He felt like he was getting the run around.  The Chamber of Commerce employee, who tried to follow the case, was also frustrated because she knew she was not helpful to the man.  We never learned the final results of the case because there was no system in place to give him direction or to follow-up.  This illustration and others like it were used to set up priorities for the developing Family Resource Center.

During this phase of development, it became clear that the work of Family Resources was much more diverse than that of REACH, Inc. (whose mission centers around women’ issues, domestic violence and sexual assault).   A Board of Directors, whose members were made up of the original Task Force, was convened to begin the process of creating a separate entity.  They developed a mission statement, By Laws and Personnel Policies, filed for Incorporation with the state of North Carolina and also for tax-exempt status with the IRS.  Family Resources of Cherokee County officially became an independent entity, separate from REACH, on April 1^st 1999.  At that time the Parents as Teachers program (formerly the Parenting Project) was also transferred to Family Resources.

The Family Advocacy program began serving families when people on the Board of Directors started referring people from their perspective organizations.  Parents as Teachers expanded from two part-time employees to one full-time employee at about the same time.   The Family Advocacy has gone through several changes but it remains central to the organization’s original purpose.

Through these two basic programs, Parents as Teachers and Family Advocacy, the organization has expanded and created diverse services within the respective programs.  These include support groups for families, GED classes on site, recreational activities that encourage parent-child interaction, a clothing exchange program, and more.  The services developed are in response to needs in the community. 

Staff:

The Board of Directors serve as volunteers. They are recruited and elected from the community we serve.

Staff are trained and have experience in child development, social work, human services or other

Volunteers are needed! You can serve on an as-needed or an on-going basis. We have many volunteers who help out during special events and some who come help out in the office regularly. Please contact us if you are interested in serving as a volunteer or a Board member!

Family Resources of Cherokee County is an affiliate of the Parents as Teachers National Center; North Carolina Prevent Child Abuse and the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits.

Funding is provided by:

• NC DSS - Community Based Programs
• Smart Start
• United Way
• Community Foundation
• Local Fund-raisers
• Private Donations
  • All Donations are tax deductible and will be used according to your specifications!