Time management, budget training, meal planning, grocery shopping and other life skills are among the lessons being taught at the Fostering Independence support group hosted by the Counseling Center and the Center for Student Success.
Fostering Independence is a support group led by Morgan Conley, the assistant director of student success initiatives at the Center for Student Success, and Jessica Woodrum, case manager for the Counseling Center.
The support group is designed for students who have been in foster or kinship care or lack family support and meant to teach valuable life skills and connect students with helpful resources on campus and in the local community.
“We meet with students every other Thursday in East Hall, and we go over daily or independent living skills,” Woodrum said. “We’ve gone over banking, financial questions they may have, taxes. We’ve provided resources on campus and in the community for these students.”
Conley said the support group came from an idea for a collaboration between the Center for Student Success and the Counseling Center.
“We took an idea that I think lots of individuals wanted to see happen on campus to support students who have been in foster care or kinship care or don’t have a lot of support from their family,” Conley said. “We felt like us coming together was the most natural combination of resources. We also got connected with a group called LevelUP, which is through the Center of Excellence in Recovery.”
Other local organizations they have worked with include the Lake and Louise Polan Fund, which helps with tuition gaps, textbooks and meal plans, and the Missions for Christ with the Steele Memorial Methodist Church in Barboursville, which has helped provide needed school and dorm supplies.
Woodrum said other valuable resources on campus for students who may be interested in Fostering Independence include the Counseling Center and the Marshall Food Pantry.
“Counseling services – if they ever need to speak to someone – they can always come to Prichard Hall to speak to one of our counselors,” Woodrum said. “Also, the food pantry; I think that’s a really good resource to have, especially for students who live on campus and may need help with food insecurities.”
When asked if she had any advice for students who were considering getting involved but were hesitant, Conley said to give it a chance.
“Sometimes there’s a lot of hesitation when you’ve been in foster care and kinship care to trust people that you don’t know,” Conley said. “But this is a really kind and caring group of individuals. They’re wanting to help you. What I would say is that there’s no harm in coming once, and if you don’t feel like it’s for you, you don’t have to come back.”
“Just give it a chance to see what resources are out there,” Conley said. “These students are big cheerleaders for each other. It’s really sweet to see how they’ve come together to support one another.”
The next session of Fostering Independence will take place on March 13 and will cover time management skills. The following sessions will take place on April 3 and April 17 and will cover meal planning and basic life skills, respectively. On May 1, the support group will have an end-of-semester celebration.
Ashton Pack can be contacted at [email protected].
