Two Grandmothers Share Their Experiences

Margaret Stroud and Donna Jackson, participants in the KIPDA Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program, recently sent us these kind words about the program.

My name is Margaret Stroud and I would just like to take the opportunity to thank you. I am raising my two grandchildren, Kendall and Tamara Stroud (right). I am 74 years old and I have been raising them without any kind of financial assistance.

I joined the Grandparents Program at Cochran Elementary School. To my surprise, I was amazed that there were so many grandparents who were also raising their grandchildren like I am, also without any kind of assistance. I have received much-needed support from KIPDA. Through KIPDA I received counseling services, trainings, and the voucher program, which has helped me purchase school uniforms and school supplies. I have also received legal counsel, which helped me get custody of my two grandchildren.

I am so thankful for the wonderful services the Grandparents Program offers and the staff that run it. I want to personally thank Ms. Patrice McGhee Odongo for all the support she has showed me in these difficult times. Ms. Odongo has been an angel, and I thank God for her.

Margaret Stroud
June 14, 2008

Having faced the devastation and destruction of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, the lives of my grandchildren and I were changed forever. Being here in Louisville was hard at first. But after a year went by, things started to become easier. The school system, doctors’ offices—I had to get used to the system. Three years later I met Patrice McGhee Odongo at a workshop for grandparents raising grandchildren. This program helped me be a better grandparent and can help every grandparent across the state. Thank you for all this program has done!

Donna M. Jackson
June 18, 2008