On April 12, we at Triple P were honored to be included in the Mental Health Awareness of Michiana community summit on resilience at the Beacon Health and Fitness Center in Elkhart. We connected with a lot of community members who are working in a lot of ways to empower and support individuals, families, and children, and we talked a lot about resilience and mental health. We also would like to give a shout out to Beacon Community Impact for supporting Triple P in Elkhart County with grants to help us reach more parents and families!

Although Triple P isn't primarily a mental health intervention, Positive Parenting has proven itself as a life-changing set of tools parents can use not just to help their children cope with and overcome challenges, but also to recognize and begin to address their own mental health strengths and needs. During the panel on adult services, our director, Leah Plank, gave a presentation linking Triple P to the Protective Factors framework. To read more about Triple P and the Protective Factors in our community, read Leah's new blog entry at the Horizon Education Alliance website.

Most people employed at any given company are parents or grandparents, uncles or aunts, stepdads or stepmoms. Triple P in Elkhart County has been working to meet those people where they spend a good chunk of their time: at work!

Through our Workplace Triple P initiative, we are proud to announce our two newest employer partners: the Indiana Toll Road and Robert Weed Corporation! Trained Triple P practitioners will give presentations on common parenting topics both in-person and virtually for employees at those two companies. The first virtual presentation for Indiana Toll Road employees this week drew more than 20 parents!

To make these connections happen, we have a lot of planning conversations with executives, human resources managers, and other company representatives. Our employer partners often poll their workforce to see what topics they are interested in learning more about, as well as what times and dates would work best for the greatest number of attendees.

This kind of partnership between employers and Triple P is a great way to engage parents who may have heard about Positive Parenting from their child's school, or at their local library, or at their place of worship, but haven't had a chance to check out a workshop yet. Employers who have employee wellness programs can also use Triple P as an enrichment opportunity for their colleagues at work.

If you are an executive or human resources manager at an employer local to Elkhart County, Ind., and you are interested in learning more about how a Workplace Triple P partnership can happen, please feel free to reach out to us! Email our director, Leah Plank, at [email protected] to start a conversation. And thank you once again to our newest partners at Indiana Toll Road and Robert Weed!

We are back at Fables Books in downtown Goshen for the city's First Fridays celebrations every month! From 5 to 7 (or 7:30 depending on how many kids we have with us) on May 5, we will be there for First Fridays Green Day making colorful, custom bookmark crafts with kiddos and sharing Triple P information with parents.

We were there for one of the first really beautiful days of the spring on April 7, Good Friday, making Easter- and Spring-themed bookmarks with an absolute ton of happy kids and families! We lost count, but we figure we saw at least 50 kids during our time there.

Thank you to our volunteers, Jen and Sheila, for helping the kids decorate their crafts, thank you to all the families and friends who came out to see us, and thank you again to our friends at Fables for welcoming us back! We hope to see you all again in May!

In the calendar of events below (or any time on TriplePElkhartCounty.org), you will see a couple of workshops we're partnering with local school corporations on to help parents prepare for their young ones entering kindergarten in the fall.

We will be at Elkhart's Woodland Elementary School on Tuesday to present the Doing Well in School workshop geared specifically to parents of incoming kindergarteners at Elkhart Community Schools. Then on May 8, we will be at Goshen Intermediate School to do the same thing for parents of incoming kindergarteners at all of the Goshen Community Schools elementaries. Both presentations will be in English and Spanish.

And as an added bonus, we will be back at Goshen Intermediate School on May 15 to give a workshop intended to help parents of incoming 5th graders adjust to the transition from elementary school to the new intermediate school for 5th and 6th grades. That workshop will also be presented in English and Spanish.

Thank you to our partners at Elkhart and Goshen schools for giving your parents the tools they need to have successful students!

Watch TriplePElkhartCounty.org for the latest events!

• Brighter Futures Indiana: Check out this resource to find social, economic, educational, career training, and health resources in your area and across the State of Indiana (available in English and Spanish). Click here to visit.

• Elkhart County Blue Sheet: Download this PDF with useful community resources for families, available in English and Spanish. Click here to view or download it.

• Body safety for children: CAPS offers resources for teaching children body safety. Click here to visit their resource page.

• Monique Burr Foundation: This organization offers free anti-bullying resources for parents, caregivers, educators and others. Click here to visit their resource page.

• Self-Healing Communities of Greater Michiana: S-HC is built to help individuals, families, organizations, and communities understand how mental health and brain development creates the foundation for resilience when times are tough throughout people's lives. Learn more at the organization's new website.

• Resources for parents of children with disabilities: Elkhart Community Schools has resources for parents and caregivers of school-age children with developmental disabilities. Click here to view or download an informational flyer in English. Click here for the same information in Spanish.

• Advocacy Links for parents of children with disabilities (and parents with disabilities): Advocacy Links is an Elkhart-based organization "dedicated to finding resources and filling the gaps in or between services for individuals with varying levels of ability, regardless of age or funding stream." Visit and bookmark the Advocacy Links website for resources, upcoming events, and more.

• Resources for LGBTQ parents and parents of LGBTQ children: The LGBTQ Center offers parent support groups, PFLAG, and other resources to help LGBTQ families connect, learn from one another, and grow. The center's purpose is to see a community where every individual is valued, respected, and empowered.

¡Hemos comenzado nuestra serie de videos de consejos de Triple P en línea en español y en inglés nuevamente! Suscríbete a nuestro canal de YouTube y a nuestro Facebook para ver las últimas novedades. En este video, Evelyn comparte estrategias de Triple P para hablar con su adolescente sobre el uso de drogas.

We have started our online Triple P video tip series in English and Spanish again! Subscribe to our YouTube channel and our Facebook to see the latest. In this video, Trisha shares tips to stay connected to your kids at any age.

Contact Triple P: [email protected] or call at (574) 226-0160.