If the UCB-Parents Mailing List (ucb-parents@parents.berkeley.edu) gives families on campus an e-mail link to one another, the Student Parent Project furnishes an actual place to go--a haven, of sorts, for students and their children.
Developed by and located in the Women's Resource Center, 250 Golden Bear Center, the Student Parent Project both advocates for family-friendly campus policies and provides some of the very services that make the campus a better place for students with kids.
Take Parent's Place, a comfortable room in the Women's Resource Center that has the look of home--walls covered with crayon masterpieces and snapshots of smiling young artists. Student moms or dads and their kids can drop in without an appointment during center hours, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Children will find books, blocks, and cuddly bears to play with, while their harried parents can collapse on a couch.
Parent's Place has a changing table, a refrigerator, a phone, postings of campus and community information, and that most necessary of parental resources, a sense of humor. On one wall a poster announces "Toddler Property Laws" that any parent would recognize:
Maybe best of all, parents can find others like themselves who are juggling class schedules with feeding schedules, and who may want to swap advice or trade child care.
In conjunction with Family Student Housing, the Student Parent Project maintains a second "home" for student parents at University Village in Albany. The drop-in Family Resource Center, in Apartment 8E across from the Academic Center, offers support and referrals, coordinates a child care swap, and runs children's activities (reservations needed) while parents use the computers at the Academic Center. Call 528-4784 for hours.
And There's More . . .
By supplying a place to relax along with information, both the Family Resource Center and Parent's Place ease the isolation felt by many students with children. But even student parents who aren't looking for a second home can benefit from the Student Parent Project.
Its parent locator service tracks down parents on campus in an emergency. Parents file their class schedules with the project, then give the project's phone number to their children's schools or day care centers. The project also loans beepers.
Its comprehensive handbook, Once Upon a University, includes tips on family housing, health care, parenting classes, and local schools, along with resources for single parents, interracial families, or gay and lesbian parents. Topics are grouped under five general headings: "Putting together the essentials for your family"; "Locating parenting resources and support"; "Turning adversity into strength"; "Making the most of student services"; and "Useful resources for family living in the Bay Area."
The last section contains money-saving ideas on clothing, transportation, and recreation. It lists the addresses of children's resale stores, tells how to buy bus and BART passes, and suggests where to take your children for fun--like the free Adventure Playground at the Berkeley Marina. This section also lists local and national advocacy organizations and information lines, including a parental stress hot line.
A limited number of free handbooks can be picked up at Parent's Place, or by calling the Student Parent Project at 643-9758. The handbook can be found on the project's Web site, its virtual home, yet another gathering place for students with children. To find it, go to the UCB Parents Network site (http://parents.berkeley.edu), then click on Student Parent Project.
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