Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES— The Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) and Phelps County Public Housing Agency (PHA) Family Self-Sufficiency program will host a free workshop May 11 in St. James on “Kids and Self Esteem.”

The workshop is designed to help parents understand how to build up children’s self-esteem and how important it is for the parents to model that self-esteem in themselves for the kids to see.  The workshop is from 10 a.m. to noon at Phelps County PHA, 4 Industrial Drive, St. James, with Christy Saylor, Missouri Ozarks Community Action (MOCA) county projects coordinator, presenting. Free training classes are a part of MRPC and PHA’s efforts to help prepare families by making them aware of the resources available to assist with self-sufficiency.

“I’ve had several participants in my family self-sufficiency program express interest in the parenting program, either to improve or as reassurance to their parenting style,” said Savannah Vandegriffe, PHA family self-sufficiency coordinator. “I’ve heard from many other organizations who’ve had participants in the parenting workshop rave about how good it, so that makes me excited to be able to host it here. Personally, I’m excited for the class as a mom. Maybe there are things that I could be doing differently or hadn’t thought about before.”

Workshops are offered at no cost to the participants. For more information or to RSVP, contact Vandegriffe at 573-265-4200 ext. 132. Each participant meeting income qualifications will receive a $25 Wal-Mart gift card.

MRPC provides staffing to the Phelps County Public Housing Agency that provides rental assistance to over 750 low-income families in Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps (outside the city limits of Rolla) and Washington counties. The PHA also offers the Family Self-Sufficiency Program where clients develop a goal-oriented, five-year plan that moves them toward self-sufficiency and independence from government programs.

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 23, directed by the MRPC board, offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion/.

-30-