Step by Step

A Quarterly Newsletter/Issue 5

Happy Spring! Here’s some news worth celebrating! In 2019, Step Up Parents began providing financial assistance to kinship caregivers raising the children of parents with substance use disorder in New Hampshire. We are thrilled to announce that we have now surpassed $100,000 in assistance, thanks to the help of our generous donors!

By assisting the kinship heroes who have stepped up for New Hampshire’s vulnerable children, we give them more than monetary support – we give them hope and remind them that they are not alone. The expression of gratitude from our recipient families is perhaps the most significant measure of our progress in achieving our mission. Stories from our families, in their own words, are compelling and inspiring. This story is from Melissa, who is now raising her sister’s children.

“Kids need to be loved and taken care of, and people stepping up don't always have any idea what they are doing. We just don't have a choice in the moment and the kids just need us,” said Melissa, a kinship caregiver with four grown children who took in her niece and nephew when they lost their mother to addiction. Step Up Parents provided Melissa with gift cards to Walmart and Kohls to purchase items for the kids, who had nothing when she took them in.

“Thank you so much for helping me to get to a day that is a little better. Thanks for not judging any situations and just helping.”

Since the beginning of the year, we have helped 32 families. With the cost of daily essentials skyrocketing, so many families are struggling to make ends meet. We are grateful to be able to help our hero caregivers who work so hard to provide a safe and loving home for the children in their care. We are now helping families in all ten New Hampshire counties.

Our Donors & Supporters

We are so grateful to the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation for their generous $55,000 grant, made possible by gifts from the New Hampshire Tomorrow Substance Use Disorders Fund. For the second year in a row, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has recognized the importance and value of our work supporting kinship families, and we are truly thankful.