Coalition receives grant from Community Foundation of Pasco County
The Healthy Start Coalition of Pasco receives grant for “Gentle Touch” Program

Pasco County, FL: The Healthy Start Coalition of Pasco has been awarded a $7,500.00 grant through the Community Foundation of Pasco County to fund the "Gentle Touch" program, a parent/caregiver education program aimed at reducing the risk of parent/infant co-sleeping/bed sharing and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) by providing safety education and developing family empowerment strategies for its participants.

The "Gentle Touch" program uses the 10-step "Gentle Touch" Parenting Curriculum to promote safe and stable family environments by enhancing awareness: of child safety (including safe sleep); anger control; behavior modification; appropriate gentle touching; limit setting; building responsibility and self discipline; building respect; conflict resolution; and creating peaceful relationships at home and in the world. Upon completion of the program, the participants will receive a crib, which will provide an incentive as well as a safe sleeping environment to help prevent co-sleeping/bed sharing and SIDS related deaths.

“This grant will allow us to strengthen and broaden our current Healthy Start education programs," said John Tschirhart, Executive Director of the Healthy Start Coalition of Pasco, "By reaching out to families that might not receive appropriate parenting, safety and safe sleep related education, we have the potential to save more babies’ lives."

Healthy Start is a free program serving pregnant women and infants up to three years of age. The goals of the program are to reduce low birth weight babies, reduce infant mortality and improve health and developmental outcomes by offering support services that address identified risk factors. To find out more about the Healthy Start Program, please contact the Healthy Start Coalition of Pasco office at (727) 841-7888 or toll free at (866) 540-9586.

For more information about Community Foundation please visit their website.