By Holly Kline
Hamilton Southeastern Schools opened two HSE Family Resource Centers in February, one at Riverside Intermediate and another at Sand Creek Intermediate. The Family Resource Centers (FRC) are available to all Hamilton county families and exist to help locate assistance for students who experience academic, behavioral or social and emotional difficulties.
“Currently, the way the centers are setup. we can provide information to parents and refer them to school-based mental health professionals within their home school (e.g., school counselors, school psychologists),” said Greg Eaken, Ph.D. and Behavior Specialist for Hamilton Southeastern Schools. “Eventually, we would like to provide more intensive support such as family counseling.”
The FRC at Riverside Intermediate is located at 11014 Eller Road in Fishers and is open from 7:35 a.m. to 3 p.m. on school days. Parents should call 594-4320 to make an appointment with Krista Weber, Jennifer Smith, or Jeff Foutty at Riverside. The FRC at Sand Creek Intermediate is at 11550 E. 131st Street in Fishers and is open on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month from 5 to 7 p.m. Parents and family members can walk in, using Entrance #7.
Parents can become acquainted with the FRC at Sand Creek Intermediate by attending the upcoming “Helping Students Cope with Anxiety” presentation on Tuesday, May 13. There are two sessions, one from 5 to 5:30 p.m. and the other from 6 to 6:30 p.m. According to Eaken, the presentation is geared toward elementary students but there will be recommendations and intervention strategies that are appropriate for older kids as well.
“We are in the very embryonic stages of getting these centers up and running,” said Eaken. “We’ll continue to find resources for parents and caregivers that we can disseminate.” He said they had a great response from HSE counselors and school psychologists in developing and staffing the centers.
The centers are closed during the summer months and will re-open in the fall with plans for additional parent meetings. “Our objective is to continue to get word out to the community about the resources we have available,” Eaken said.
