SERVOL Trinidad and Tobago | Parent Outreach Programme

PARENT OUTREACH PROGRAMME

SERVOL has always been guided by the findings of social and behavioral scientists. There is general agreement among all experts that so dominant is the influence of home life and early upbringing that it accounts overwhelmingly for the good or bad character and personality traits of the person. Psychologists and psychiatrists are almost unanimous in saying that by the age of three (3) the character of the child is substantially shaped and by the age of six (6), it is resistant to change.

Additional research findings also indicate that parents generally bring up their children in the way they themselves have been parented, for example, if they had experienced abusive parenting they will tend to repeat this pattern of behaviour with their children. Based on these findings, in 1993 SERVOL established a Parent Outreach Programme (POP).

The program utilizes a team of competent and trained Facilitators, Field Officers and Coordinators, who conduct home visits in rural areas. These visits focus on empowerment sessions to increase the life chances of children and restore stability in the families with whom they work. Group sessions are held to allow parents to share common problems and solutions.

In addition, POP also helps to:

Strengthen parenting skills
Enhance parental self-awareness
Encourage personal growth
Create an environment of support
Share information on child development and the importance of early stimulation
Show parents how to use the home environment as a learning facility to enhance development
Encourage pre-school education
Monitor children’s development
Teach parents how to navigate the network of social service agencies to seek assistance
Make referrals when necessary
Teach marketable skills
Encourage entrepreneurship
Encourage overall health and wellness