{"id":32229,"date":"2025-09-29T16:38:03","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T20:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/?p=32229"},"modified":"2025-10-08T16:07:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:07:53","slug":"rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/","title":{"rendered":"Rooted in Community: Serving Families Where They Live"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"32229\" class=\"elementor elementor-32229\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11ae1d7 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"11ae1d7\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6390949 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6390949\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f772a15 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f772a15\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">More than 200 families attended a community baby shower at Iris Family Support Center\u2019s Family Resource Center (FRC) in Fort Wayne, many arriving hours early and standing in a line wrapped around the building. They came for diapers, hygiene products and a little something extra.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cWe had no idea it would be that big. Families came dressed in their best clothes to get professional maternity photos. It was beautiful. For many of them, it was the first time they\u2019d had anything like that \u2013 a moment to feel celebrated,\u201d said Whitney Craig, Iris\u2019s marketing and communications director.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a44e48c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a44e48c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Iris\u2019s team knew the organization was well-positioned to make a deeper impact in Fort Wayne, but they didn\u2019t expect just how quickly the need for early childhood support would grow or how powerfully the community would respond.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Through Early Years Initiative, Iris expanded two programs supporting children and families from pregnancy through early childhood. One of those is the FRC, which opened in 2023 in Fort Wayne\u2019s 46806 zip code, where infant mortality rates are among the highest in the state.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cWe intentionally placed the FRC in a neighborhood where families could walk to access support,\u201d said Jessica Hicks, Iris\u2019s community services vice president.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fd71291 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"fd71291\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a5e871d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a5e871d\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9cf7f73 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"9cf7f73\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-32233 lazyload\" alt=\"\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-500x281.jpg 500w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-32233 lazyload\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-500x281.jpg 500w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-2-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7cf2441 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7cf2441\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bfc4db4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"bfc4db4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The FRC, which supports about 250 children, offers prenatal education, safe sleep classes and parenting education, as well as practical support like diapers, hygiene products and developmental screenings. But what sets the center apart is how its programming builds trust with multilingual and multicultural families through translation and meaningful connection.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">More than 70% of the families that visit the center speak a language other than English \u2013 Spanish, Burmese, Haitian Creole, French, Rohingya and Swahili, to name a few. Cultural responsiveness is built into how the organization operates, with half of the center\u2019s radio ads created in Spanish and printed materials available in multiple languages.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b6c35e9 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b6c35e9\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6aa283e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6aa283e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cWe\u2019ve had to rethink everything, from hiring practices, to how we design flyers, to where we advertise. When families walk in the door, we want them to feel like this is their space,\u201d Craig said.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">That intentionality extends to Iris\u2019s long-standing Healthy Families Program, which has served Allen County since the 1990s. Expanded through Early Years Initiative, the program now serves about 500 children and includes the Parents as Teachers (PAT) curriculum, an evidence-based model that supports families from the third trimester of pregnancy through age three.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Healthy Families team visits families at their homes, providing support with child development but also job searches, education, mental health referrals and more. That wrap-around approach is especially important for non-English-speaking families who may struggle to access services due to language or cultural barriers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cOur team was so excited when we were able to bring in <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">PAT<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\">. It\u2019s practical and empowering. One part teaches families how to make developmental toys using items they already have at home. That\u2019s a game-changer for a family that might not be able to afford new toys. We\u2019re trying to reduce stressors, because when you reduce stress for a parent, you reduce risk for the child. That\u2019s prevention work at its best,\u201d Hicks said.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70139bc e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"70139bc\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4bbb32b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"4bbb32b\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1d35903 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1d35903\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Team members reflect the communities they serve and Iris regularly offers the team cultural competency training to ensure families feel respected and heard. Sessions have included ways to support the Burmese community and how to better communicate with Spanish-speaking populations.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">While both programs target families from pregnancy through early childhood, Iris takes a flexible, no-wrong-door approach to care. If a family enters the FRC but doesn\u2019t meet the age cutoff for Healthy Families, the team refers them to other Iris programs or trusted partners in the community.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cIt\u2019s not about who we can serve. It\u2019s about how we make sure every family gets connected to someone who can help. No one gets turned away,\u201d Craig said.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Early Years Initiative has transformed their programs, they said.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c4d775b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c4d775b\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-285699e elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"285699e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-1024x769.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-32234 lazyload\" alt=\"\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-1024x769.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-1536x1153.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-500x375.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-800x600.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-1280x961.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-1920x1441.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B.jpeg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" src=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-1024x769.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-32234 lazyload\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-1024x769.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-1536x1153.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-500x375.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-800x600.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-1280x961.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B-1920x1441.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/processed-FE62F381-5636-4819-856C-2B98916E485B.jpeg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fbdfccf e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"fbdfccf\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9567964 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9567964\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cIt validates the work we\u2019re doing. Social work is hard. You don\u2019t do it for the money. But when our team sees that people believe in them and in the families we serve, that matters. That fuels us,\u201d Hicks said.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0\u201cThis is what prevention looks like,\u201d Craig added. \u201cIt\u2019s support from day one, and it\u2019s changing lives.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 200 families attended a community baby shower at Iris Family Support Center\u2019s Family Resource Center (FRC) in Fort Wayne, many arriving hours early and standing in a line wrapped around the building. They came for diapers, hygiene products and a little something extra.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe had no idea it would be that big. Families [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":32232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1113],"tags":[1119],"class_list":["post-32229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-early-years-initiative-2","tag-early-detection-and-intervention"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rooted in Community: Serving Families Where They Live - Early Learning Indiana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"More than 200 families attended a community baby shower at Iris Family Support Center\u2019s Family Resource Center (FRC) in Fort Wayne, many arriving hours\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rooted in Community: Serving Families Where They Live - Early Learning Indiana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"More than 200 families attended a community baby shower at Iris Family Support Center\u2019s Family Resource Center (FRC) in Fort Wayne, many arriving hours\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Early Learning Indiana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-29T20:38:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-08T20:07:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Neal Butler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Neal Butler\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Neal Butler\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a256940ed29d843317d2d6dff0c5a7a1\"},\"headline\":\"Rooted in Community: Serving Families Where They Live\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-29T20:38:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-08T20:07:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/\"},\"wordCount\":716,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Early Detection and Intervention\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Early Years Initiative\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/\",\"name\":\"Rooted in Community: Serving Families Where They Live - Early Learning Indiana\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-29T20:38:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-08T20:07:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"More than 200 families attended a community baby shower at Iris Family Support Center\u2019s Family Resource Center (FRC) in Fort Wayne, many arriving hours\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1440},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/\",\"name\":\"Early Learning Indiana\",\"description\":\"Early Education Advocacy for Children in Indiana\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Early Learning Indiana\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-21-at-11.28.55-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-21-at-11.28.55-PM.png\",\"width\":1838,\"height\":376,\"caption\":\"Early Learning Indiana\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a256940ed29d843317d2d6dff0c5a7a1\",\"name\":\"Neal Butler\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9192b807704543f8ec15c51af308fdaf393be310434ef5e3f36b54096d541c4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9192b807704543f8ec15c51af308fdaf393be310434ef5e3f36b54096d541c4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Neal Butler\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/author\/nealb\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rooted in Community: Serving Families Where They Live - Early Learning Indiana","description":"More than 200 families attended a community baby shower at Iris Family Support Center\u2019s Family Resource Center (FRC) in Fort Wayne, many arriving hours","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rooted in Community: Serving Families Where They Live - Early Learning Indiana","og_description":"More than 200 families attended a community baby shower at Iris Family Support Center\u2019s Family Resource Center (FRC) in Fort Wayne, many arriving hours","og_url":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/","og_site_name":"Early Learning Indiana","article_published_time":"2025-09-29T20:38:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-08T20:07:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Neal Butler","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Neal Butler","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/"},"author":{"name":"Neal Butler","@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a256940ed29d843317d2d6dff0c5a7a1"},"headline":"Rooted in Community: Serving Families Where They Live","datePublished":"2025-09-29T20:38:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-08T20:07:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/"},"wordCount":716,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Early Detection and Intervention"],"articleSection":["Early Years Initiative"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/","url":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/","name":"Rooted in Community: Serving Families Where They Live - Early Learning Indiana","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-29T20:38:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-08T20:07:53+00:00","description":"More than 200 families attended a community baby shower at Iris Family Support Center\u2019s Family Resource Center (FRC) in Fort Wayne, many arriving hours","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/rooted-in-community-serving-families-where-they-live\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1440},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/","name":"Early Learning Indiana","description":"Early Education Advocacy for Children in Indiana","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#organization","name":"Early Learning Indiana","url":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-21-at-11.28.55-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-21-at-11.28.55-PM.png","width":1838,"height":376,"caption":"Early Learning Indiana"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a256940ed29d843317d2d6dff0c5a7a1","name":"Neal Butler","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9192b807704543f8ec15c51af308fdaf393be310434ef5e3f36b54096d541c4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9192b807704543f8ec15c51af308fdaf393be310434ef5e3f36b54096d541c4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Neal Butler"},"url":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/author\/nealb\/"}]}},"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg",2560,1440,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg",2560,1440,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg",2560,1440,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"large":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"thumblist":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"meccarouselthumb":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-474x324.jpg",474,324,true],"gridsquare":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-391x260.jpg",391,260,true],"tileview":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-300x400.jpg",300,400,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-2048x1152.jpg",2048,1152,true],"Image Size 500x500":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-500x500.jpg",500,500,true],"300x300 - No Hard Crop":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"vp_sm":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-500x281.jpg",500,281,true],"vp_md":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-800x450.jpg",800,450,true],"vp_lg":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-1280x720.jpg",1280,720,true],"vp_xl":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-1920x1080.jpg",1920,1080,true],"vp_sm_popup":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-500x281.jpg",500,281,true],"vp_md_popup":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-800x450.jpg",800,450,true],"vp_xl_popup":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-1920x1080.jpg",1920,1080,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg",300,169,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg",400,225,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BOG-1-scaled.jpg",600,338,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Neal Butler","author_link":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/author\/nealb\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/category\/early-years-initiative-2\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Early Years Initiative<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"More than 200 families attended a community baby shower at Iris Family Support Center\u2019s Family Resource Center (FRC) in Fort Wayne, many arriving hours early and standing in a line wrapped around the building. They came for diapers, hygiene products and a little something extra.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe had no idea it would be that big. Families&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/290"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32229"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32246,"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32229\/revisions\/32246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlylearningin.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}