MIDLAND, Texas — Asking for help is the very first step and oftentimes the hardest.
"Our hope is that this family support center would be a bridge between MISD and the community in an effort to help families seek out and find the resources that they need rather than sending them out to the resources. We're going to try to be a one stop shop," Jill McCall, MISD director of student services said.
It can be as extensive as a family member of a student needing help finding a job or as simple as getting their student some extra school supplies.
"There's tons of resources here, but it's hard to find them and it's hard to get families the help they need because they're all over," McCall said.
Midland ISD's student services department feels it's their responsibility to direct these families straight to the places in Midland that know how to help them best.
And why is the district taking this on?
"Kids and families need schools and schools are the center of a community oftentimes, so I think it's only natural that the schools are involved," McCall said.
The timing couldn't be more perfect. District offficals said this was in the works a few months before the COVID era.
"We just didn't have the time to implement it and then COVID hit, so we were in the process of hiring two family liaisons during that time when we went on shutdown or went to virtual," McCall said.
If you're looking for this extra help, you can call the MISD student services department at 432-240-1520 to set up a meeting in person or virtually between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The student services department will be hosting a drive in December for the family support center, gathering essentials like food, clothing and toiletries.
The date of this drive has not been released yet.
And once the drive is finished and this center is more up-and-running, this department will be in need of some volunteers.