Grandparents raising their grandchildren is a growing trend in America. The 2000 Census shows that 83,593 children in the United States are being raised by grandparents, and the number is only expected to grow, according to Dr. Sylvia Forster, executive director of the Pinebelt Association for Families.

With a rapidly changing society, grandparents and other relatives often need assistance learning how to raise today’s children. The Pinebelt Association for Families offers support groups in Smith, Covington, Jones, Forrest and Jackson counties for relatives who for one reason or another are raising children rather than the parents.

Forster said that Relatives As Parents, the support group, offers emotional and psychological support for grandparents and other relatives raising children.

The support group offers classes on navigating the social services department and how to deal with stress, but more than classes, the group offers an open forum and a camaraderie among people sharing the same circumstances.

The group offers grandparents many activities that include their grandchildren. Forster said that all of their activities are family oriented and educational. In the past the group has visited an alligator farm, taken an air-boat ride and visited the science museum in Jackson.

“They don’t ever pay for a thing,” Forster said.

The group is supported by area agencies such as the United Way of Southeast Mississippi, the Area Agency on Aging and the Brookdale Foundation.

Forster works with national companies to provide donations to assist with needs in the family. The group also provides utility bill and supply assistance.

“These kids come to you damaged. They come to you strained. You have to have counseling and support and you have to have means,” Forster said.

The Jones County group meets at the James E. Townley Center at 11:30 a.m. the last Tuesday of each month.