- Video shows Arian Garcia, a mother of two special needs students in the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District who attended the Parent Resource Fair last year.
- Garcia explains how the fair helped her find services and support for not only her children, but for her as a parent.
- After the initial success of the event, the district decided to open the resource fair to more vendors and for families throughout Bakersfield, in order to ease some of the strain for parents looking to connect with services.
Being a parent takes a lot of time, and it’s not always easy finding resources, activities and support for your child. That’s why the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District is bringing them all together for one night.
“I used to feel like I had to look for a special need’s program," said Arian Garcia, a mother of two special needs students: a fourth grader in a mod-severe SDC class and a seven-year-old with an Individualized Education Plan.
With her kids in the P-BVUSD, Garcia attended the parent resource fair last year hoping to find programs for her sons.
“It was looking for how to connect my children to the general community resources,” she said.
While she was able to find resources for her children, what surprised her more were the community services she was able to connect with as a parent. Organizations like H.E.A.R.T.S Connection, a non-profit that helps parents understand IEPs and advocate for their kids.
“They also attend [IEP] meetings with parents and help parents be a better partner with the districts because it can be complicated and lengthy at times," Garcia said.
After the initial success of the event, the district decided to open the resource fair to more vendors and for families throughout Bakersfield, in order to ease some of the strain for parents looking to connect with services.
“Originally our special services department took it on, ran it last year and they gave great resources," said Communication Director Chantel Stansberry. "This year it is starting to expand a little bit beyond that.”
Along with non-profits and educations services, the event will have public health resources, a vaccination clinic, car seat demonstration, government partners and more. In total there are over 60 vendors set to attend. Stansberry said any family is town is welcome to find resources they're in-need of.
“It can be difficult to get out to so many events that all of the non-profits, the community partners are working with so this kind of synergizes that," she said.
The parent resource fair is happening Thursday, April 18, at Stonecreek Junior High. The event runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. with a food fair at 4:30. For a look at all thevendors attending, see here.
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