Are you a grandparent raising your grandchildren and searching for practical guidance to navigate life’s toughest moments? Do feelings of guilt, shame, or overwhelm ever weigh you down as you support children impacted by trauma, addiction, or family instability? Are you looking for proven strategies to create a nurturing, stable home environment, even in the face of adversity?
I’m Laura Brazan, host of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Nurturing Through Adversity. In this episode, “Five STEPS for Proactive Parenting,” I sit down with Steve Ward, founder of Steps Ministries, as he shares his powerful journey overcoming addiction and provides a practical, holistic approach to healing intergenerational wounds. Steve introduces his transformative STEPS Principles—surrender, transformation, empathy, progress, and service—designed to empower grandparents and kinship caregivers facing behavioral health, substance abuse, and mental health challenges within their families.
To find out more information on the books, "STEPS: A Daily Journey to A Better Life", and "The Next Right Steps: How to Live Life Better". please visit the STEPS Ministries website.
You’ll discover expert advice and real-life stories about letting go of guilt, embracing hope, and finding purpose on even the hardest days. We explore how to talk to grandchildren about parental addiction, handle difficult emotions, and reclaim joy one step at a time. Whether you’re coping with a family crisis or striving to prevent it, this supportive community is here for you.
Join us as we learn how to take the “next right step” toward resilience, offering hope, guidance, and practical tools for grandparents committed to rewriting their family’s future. Tune in and connect with a community that values your story—and walk with us toward healing and strength.
As a grandmother raising two grandchildren, one of my favorite things is watching them connect with the world around them. That's why I'm so in love with Dr. Dale Atkins new children's book "Dear Deer". Purchase directly through her website, Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Help our kids log off the screeens and tune back into the world!
Jill Bryant has spent years researching the deep complexities of counseling and the lived reality of kinship care as a professor and a grandparent raising a grandchild. Her work, focusing on the complete subjective well-being of kinship caregivers. Taking this 10-minute survey gives our advocates the timely, real-world data they need to fight for the funding and structural support your family deserves right now.
Kinship care—stepping up to raise your grandchildren—can often feel like an incredibly lonely journey. When custody happens unexpectedly, it’s easy to feel like you are the only one navigating the trauma, the system, and the sheer exhaustion.
But you aren't alone. And that is exactly why your story matters. Your unique experience holds the power to change the system for the next family. Share your story with us at laurabrazan@grandparents-raising-grandchildren.org
Thank you for tuning into today's episode. It's been a journey of shared stories, insights, and invaluable advice from the heart of a community that knows the beauty and challenges of raising grandchildren. Your presence and engagement mean the world to us and to grandparents everywhere stepping up in ways they never imagined.
Remember, you're not alone on this journey. For more resources, support, and stories, visit our website and follow us on our social media channels. If today's episode moved you, consider sharing it with someone who might find comfort and connection in our shared experiences.
We look forward to bringing more stories and expert advice your way next week. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other.
Want to be a guest on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Nurturing Through Adversity? Send Laura Brazan a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/grg
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