Creating Memories One Community at a Time

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) sit on the Flathead Reservation in western Montana, encompassing seven towns. For over six years, the CSKT Early Foundations Home Visiting Program (EFHV), along with their partners, has provided fun, educational, and interactive events for families in the community. It started in 2015 with a summer event called Big Toys for Big Boys. 

For this event, the program worked with other agencies to bring attention to the service workers of the community.  The event was a mix of information and hands-on activities offered at various booths.  The big draw was the display of trucks - construction, refuse, and electrical trucks with their big buckets - all stationed across the event space.

Rhea Gates, Program Manager for EFHV, shares that this was an opportunity for parents and children “to learn about the community around them”.  Over 300 families attended the event, and the positive feedback from the community highlighted the importance of these community get-togethers.

Since then, EFHV has continued to take the lead in planning these quarterly events. From the success of the Big Toys for Big Boys, the team considered other topics that would continue to bring the community together. Mrs. Gates said the families were so excited and appreciative that the EFHV team wanted to plan more events. When asked to share what is one positive she sees from these events, Mrs. Gates was quick to respond, “The families are busy, engaged. Making memories with their kids.”

In the last two years, the events have remained constant. In the summer, the topic is Literacy is Fun, and in the winter, the focus is a Busy Elves Workshop. Fall brings the Back to School Block party, and in the spring, families come together to play Bingo for Books. Each event brings hundreds of families together. Mrs. Gates shared that “Initially, they were held in a smaller area, but we knew right away we needed to move and find a new, bigger place!” The location moved to support the activities planned and accommodate the number of families 

who participate. Mrs. Gates shared that many of the families return year after year. “It doesn’t cost anything (for the families); kids love it, and the families tell you they can’t wait for the next one.” Mrs. Gates shared that these events are essential for the home visiting program because the events show other programs and the community the importance of unity, both family unity and community unity.  It is important to be a leader and planner and bring these programs together for the benefit of the families and the community. It is also a time for the home visitors and the families to spend time together outside of a home visit. The home visitors see the families having fun and enjoying themselves with extended family and friends.

It takes the work of many to create these successful events. Along with the home visiting program, other partners include Tribal Health (WIC, Diabetes Prevention); programs within the department (Healthy Young Families, Child and Youth Trauma, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families , Child Care Block Grant, and others); and Tobacco Prevention. Mrs. Gates shared that EFHV has “very generous partners in the tribe that make the events successful.” Two months in advance of the event, Mrs. Gates sends an email to all the partners in which she shares the purpose of the event and the expectation of being a planning partner. Mrs. Gates typically secures the venue while the other partners secure water, food, games, and provide activities for their booths. Mrs. Gates credits the success of the partnerships to an open avenue of communication and relationship building.  Every program helps out when called, knowing that if they need help, the help will also be there from other agencies and programs.

Of course, COVID-19 has impacted the community events, but it did not stop them. Mrs. Gates is busy preparing for their next community engagement event, Literacy is Fun, and considering how that event will look in a virtual environment. Mrs. Gates shared, “Life can change so dramatically. (We’re) still trying to figure out how to support them (the families), but still keep everyone safe at the same time.” She and her team are up for the challenge of how this can look virtually, and the “creative juices are flowing” to plan Literacy is Fun. Mrs. Gates said that this event might be activity bags that are sent to the families. Mrs. Gates feels these community events are essential to help families take a break from their daily stressors. In closing, Mrs. Gates shared that the families love being part of their community, and it is important to keep the engagement going — to make more memories.

More information about the Early Foundations Home Visiting Program at CSKT  or contact Rhea Gates via email rhea.gates@cskt or at 406-675-2700 Ext 1325.

ACF's Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program awards grants to tribal entities to develop, implement, and evaluate home visiting programs in American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities. The grants help build and strengthen tribal capacity to support and promote the health and well-being of AIAN families, expand the evidence base around home visiting in tribal communities, and support and strengthen cooperation and linkages between programs that serve tribal children and their families. Find out more about the Tribal Home Visiting program and grantees.