From the Neighbor’s House to the State House: How PEPS Helps Families Thrive

By Sarah Bahn, PEPS Communications & Marketing Manager (Estimated reading time: 6 minutes)

For over 40 years, PEPS has connected parents to strengthen families and build community. We know that fostering hyper-local communities of support helps parents build resilience to weather the next milestone, challenge, or change. We also know that parents in our community — and across the state and country — need more than a friendly neighbor down the block to thrive. Parents need access to resources and support that create a foundation of stability for their families on a systemic level. 

Over the past four decades, PEPS has built an incredible community of engaged parents who care about supporting families. In recent years, PEPS has embraced our responsibility to leverage our large community of parents, grandparents, partners, and community members to advocate for more equitable policies that support children and families. In collaboration with statewide advocacy coalitions, we focus our advocacy work on the areas that families told us would make the biggest difference in their day-to-day lives, like access to affordable housing, economic security, and childcare. By incorporating advocacy into our work, PEPS is aiming to support families on both a local and systemic level.  

Access to Resources That Make Parenting Easier 

IN PEPS GROUPS:  

Sharing resources is one of the benefits that parents most appreciate about their PEPS Groups. Whether it’s a PEPS handout or blog article about a topic like adolescent brain development or a personalized recommendation about the best white noise machine or local stroller-friendly walking paths from a PEPS friend, having a group to ask questions and brainstorm with helps parents learn and gain access resources they may not have known about without PEPS. Gergana, a parent in a PEPS Newborn Group, said: “I definitely think that all the resources that we collected together as a group and were provided through PEPS in our meetings and in our conversations, it definitely had a key helping element in my process of being a mom… I am dealing with childcare issues, and my topic from PEPS on childcare resources is the first thing I went back to as I am struggling to figure out [what to do]. PEPS is the first place I would go and look for information. I texted my entire group, and it’s just the first place I would ask the questions that are going on in my head.” PEPS helps parents connect to resources that make their parenting journeys a little easier.  

IN PEPS ADVOCACY WORK:  

As much as local, specific recommendations and resources are helpful, your PEPS Group members can’t change the cost of childcare or bump you to the top of the waitlist. That’s why PEPS is working to advocate for better access to affordable, high-quality childcare options for all families. During the 2024 legislative session, PEPS activated our community to support investing more state funding in childcare programs like Holding Hope and Early ECEAP that operate at the intersection of early childhood development and mental health. These programs support children and families by increasing and maintaining access to high-quality, comprehensive childcare. 

Helping Parents Form Strong Bonds with Their Children 

IN PEPS GROUPS:  

PEPS Newborn and Baby Peppers Groups focus on helping parents foster a healthy bond with their baby and process the early months of parenthood. During each meeting, Group Leaders facilitate a Developmental Moment, an activity that supports babies’ development and creates an opportunity for bonding between caregivers and babies. In our Program for Parents of Adolescents and Teens (PAT), parents learn tools to strengthen their communication skills with their adolescents, helping them foster a healthy relationship. 

The PEPS curriculum is designed to lead parents through various discussion topics that help them reflect and process their parenting experiences through thought-provoking reflection questions led by inclusive facilitators. Creating space for parents to find support and build confidence in their role as caregivers helps nurture healthy families and support children’s development – from the critical first few years of life through adolescence.  

IN PEPS ADVOCACY WORK:  

Having the time and financial stability to focus on bonding with a new baby is critical to both babies’ and parents’ health. Through our advocacy work, PEPS supports paid leave to allow all parents, whether they are the birthing parent or not, to bond with their child and adjust to parenting in the early weeks and months after welcoming a new child. 

In 2019, Washington State implemented a Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) benefit allowing for at least 12 weeks of paid leave for qualifying medical and care events, including bonding leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Five years in, the program still has opportunities to be more valuable and effective for families. In recent years, PEPS has advocated for adjustments to Washington’s PFML program, including improving the financial stability of the program and preventing delays in medical office claims submissions. We will continue advocating for improvements to the program to ensure all families have access to this important benefit supporting financial stability and bonding for growing families.  

Building Networks of Support and Stability in Times of Need 

IN PEPS GROUPS:  

The PEPS model is based on the Strengthening Families framework, a research-informed strategy outlining five protective factors that increase family strengths to support healthy child development and reduce the likelihood of abuse and neglect. One of these five protective factors is concrete support in times of need. Many PEPS Groups are neighborhood-based, helping parents meet other families who live nearby. This helps build a network of support for parents like Armina and Mike, who don’t live near family. Friends from their PEPS Group became resources they could call on for things like help with childcare in case of an emergency. Mike reflected that “because you know the families really, really well, you know the people really, really well, it’s not an imposition. Everyone is there to support the other people. And so sometimes I think for people that have family close by, that’s where family would step in. And for us, a lot of those situations have been filled with folks from our PEPS Group.” PEPS Groups are about more than making friends who live down the block; PEPS connections can become a lifeline for families in times of need.  

IN PEPS ADVOCACY WORK:  

Having a foundation of stability helps families thrive. We’ve seen how much the peace of mind of having a network of support in times of need has helped parents like Armina and Mike. Families also deserve stability in their housing, childcare, and finances. That’s why we’re advocating for more affordable housing to make sure families can access safe and comfortable housing they can afford. In recent legislative sessions, PEPS has advocated in support of more funding for the Housing Trust Fund, Washington State’s fund that provides capital financing to build and preserve affordable housing units. We believe that all people and families deserve a safe, stable place to call home. 

When families have a safety net of support – through access to housing, childcare, economic security, and supportive relationships with others who can help them in times of need – they’re able to focus on supporting their child’s development and fostering strong relationships between caregivers and children. While PEPS has a long history of connecting families locally, we know that more work needs to happen to support all families systemically. With the power of our community’s voice and engagement, we know that we can create a positive impact within our local neighborhoods and throughout our state. 

Do you want to advocate for more equitable policies for children and families? Learn more about advocacy work at PEPS and sign up for our advocacy email list to receive timely action alerts to support policies and contact your legislators.  

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