The Stroller Squad and beyond: How JBLM’s New Parent Support Program rolls
Photo By Allison Hoy |
Joint Base Lewis-McChord Army spouse Allison Marquis (left) chats July 7 with JBLM New......read moreread more
Photo By Allison Hoy | Joint Base Lewis-McChord Army spouse Allison Marquis (left) chats July 7 with JBLM New Parent Support Program registered nurse Michelle Flood during the NPSP Stroller Squad walk at Heritage Hill Airpark, McChord. see less
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The Stroller Squad and beyond: How JBLM’s New Parent Support Program rolls
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – When Army spouse Allison Marquis moved with her family to Joint Base Lewis-McChord at the end of April, she knew where to go with her almost 2-year-old daughter, Ivy Marquis, to find a community and parenting resources: JBLM’s New Parent Support Program.
Prior to arriving in the Pacific Northwest, Allison participated in the NPSP at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where she took new parent classes while expecting Ivy. She also requested a home visitor through the program, who assisted during her last month of pregnancy and through Ivy’s newborn stage.
JBLM’s Armed Forces Community Service NPSP also offers home visitors and classes, including Preparing for Birth; Breastfeeding Basics; New Parent Boot Camp; and Infant and Toddler Life-Saving Readiness, to name a few. All classes are available on demand and may be scheduled via phone at 253-967-7409.
Soon after Allison’s JBLM arrival, she joined the NPSP playgroup, started meeting with one of its home visitors — registered nurse and Army spouse Michelle Flood — and began weekly walks with its Stroller Squad.
The Stroller Squad treks, meant for families with children ages 12 and under, begin at 10 a.m. at Sounders Indoor Playground, McChord, and end around 11:20 a.m. They include a break at a pavilion for self-packed snacks and observation of Heritage Hill Airpark. The walks will continue through Oct. 13.
“It’s a time for people to connect, to get to know each-other (and) to form relationships with each-other,” said registered nurse Stephanie Gilbreath, Stroller Squad creator and NPSP home visitor.
“We’re still pretty new,” but the NPSP has helped with community, Allison said during the Stroller Squad walk, adding that she made a friend the previous week.
Ivy seems to like the activities, too, in her own toddler way, she said.
“She loves being in the stroller, she loves the playgroup, and she’s getting (to) the point where she says, ‘No’ to everything — so yes, she enjoys it, but sometimes it takes some coaxing nowadays,” she said.
The NPSP playgroup also meets at Sounders Indoor Playground. It’s held on Wednesdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m., with movement and music programming offered every first and third Wednesday. Registration is not required.
Ivy also “warms up pretty quickly” to the NPSP home visitors, Allison said.
The home visits are part of a free, voluntary home and community-based parenting support and education program. It’s tailored for expecting, active-duty service members and reservists and their families, and those with children through age 4.
The visitors are healthcare professionals who travel within a 50-mile radius of JBLM. They are also able to meet with families in a dedicated JBLM education space.
“They’re there to come in with no judgment — just help,” said Brooke Campbell, JBLM AFCS Family Advocacy Program Manager.
Flood asks Allison what she would like to discuss ahead of her home visits.
“We talk about any concerns that we have, like helping with potty training or tantrums,” Allison said. “My questions are different now because (Ivy is) older. I had a lot more questions in the first year, obviously.”
Flood, who is currently training to become a lactation consultant, said she enjoys visiting military families, helping to solve potential issues and providing helpful resources.
“I wish I had a home visitor when I was pregnant with my first and dealing with all the new parent things,” including feeling isolated and not having nearby family support, Flood said.
“We find that military families are often isolated from their families of origin,” Campbell said. “So, that’s why we find that connection with other people so important, and really, the New Parent Support Program as a whole was developed to try to fill that gap.”
Allison has been inviting others to join the Stroller Squad, with the goal of building her JBLM community.
“I feel like the more that we come, the more we’ll get to know people, and if more people come consistently … we’ll get to make more friends,” she said.
For more information about JBLM’s NPSP, or class or home visitor registration assistance, call 253-967-7409 or visit the NPSP office at Building 2013 A, N. Third St., Lewis Main. More information is also available at [https://jblm.armymwr.com/programs/family-advocacy-program/new-parent-support-program-npsp](https://jblm.armymwr.com/programs/family-advocacy-program/new-parent-support-program-npsp).
