More than two million grandfamilies exist in the United States, according to the Department of Labor, and Florida is home to a big share of them. When parents can’t raise their children because of addiction, illness, incarceration, or death, grandparents step in, often overnight and often on a fixed income. A new InvestigateTV+ report shows that many of these caregivers struggle to access the benefits and services they qualify for, from guardianship paperwork to housing and food assistance.
The same episode explores the Pulse Renewal Project, a first responder mental health initiative founded by former Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Dee John. It launched its first program two years after an ambush in east Charlotte killed four officers, a reminder that trauma follows first responders long after the sirens stop. Closer to home, that conversation matters for our deputies, firefighters, and paramedics across Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties.
Other segments in the report look at boutique-style assisted living homes with ten residents or fewer, and a nonprofit that teaches kids engineering through building, coding, and competing with robots, lessons that come as much from failure as from success. Do you know a grandparent raising grandchildren here on the Suncoast? What kind of help would make the biggest difference for them?
