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Any parent can benefit from education and support – and it’s particularly important in Florida’s Manatee County, which has one of the highest foster care rates in the country.
As a parent herself, Shelli Ensminger knows how difficult it can be. “I understand the isolation and guilt parenting challenges can create,” said Ensminger, an agent with Anderson & Associates Insurance Group in Palmetto. “That’s why I got involved with the Family Partnership Center.”
The center helps parents in Manatee and Sarasota counties, some of whom have children considered at risk for abuse or neglect due to age, poverty, education, or a lack of parenting skills, according to Katrina Bellemare, Executive Director.
After starting in 1994 in Bradenton with just three families, the center expects to serve a diverse population of about 1,500 parents and children in 2017, Bellemare said. All of its educators are experienced professionals trained in a variety of fields, including substance abuse, special education, social work, and more.
“The Family Partnership Center creates hope by giving parents the skills to stop harmful parenting behaviors and enjoy raising their children,” Ensminger said. And the difference she sees after parents go through the organization’s Parent Partner Program is nothing short of amazing.
“These parents say things like, ‘I no longer scream at my children or hit them,’ or ‘Now I think before I talk to them, and I can control myself.’ The Family Partnership Center truly makes a difference.”
Ensminger makes a big difference, too. She serves on the center’s board of directors and fundraising committee, and also supports events such as the Sangria Showdown, which she co-chairs.
“Shelli is incredibly dynamic,” Bellemare said. “She works tirelessly to promote the organization and help us secure new funding through her amazing ability to connect like-minded people. And she inspires others to take action with her contagious joy and passion.”
Her dedication also has earned a 2017 Safeco Insurance Make More Happen Award, which comes with up to a $10,000 donation from Safeco to the Family Partnership Center on behalf of Anderson & Associates Insurance Group.
“That donation can provide 25 of our most at-risk parents and children with intensive services to combat the cycle of abuse,” Bellemare said.
And breaking that cycle is the most important thing of all, according to Ensminger. “I love that we can help the Family Partnership Center prevent abuse and neglect through education. It’s about building a community where all children can be safe and thriving.”
