July 6, 2025 • 35 mins
Segment 1: Amber Banda has Emergence Health Network back, just in time for back to school! She talks with Noreen Jaramillo, Director of Communications, and Krista Wingate, Chief of Child Adolescent Services, about challenges faced by parents and kids alike when going back. They discuss transitioning to different grades, separation anxiety and how to ease it, how to say NO more to keep your peace of mind, finding a balance with your kids when it comes to school and outside activties and more.
.
They have 2 amazing events coming up to help with the mental stress as well as some freebies includin school supplies! The first event will their "Building Minds Feeling Factory" at La Nube Saturday, July 12th. The first 400 people get FREE tickets!
.
Their other event will be their Back-To-School symposiun at the Starlight Event Center August 2nd. They will have 300 full-sized backpacks and 300 caregiver/parent bags to give away at this event. Find the QR on code on their website to register.
.
Tune in to find out more on these events and how to make the back-to-school process a whole less stressful.
.
For more information and to register for the Back-To-School symposium go to emergencehealthnetwork.org
CRISIS HOTLINE: CALL OR TEXT 988
If you want something done right, call a mom. ALL ABOARD!
Segment 2: Amber Banda talks with Mayra Garcia Lopez, Executive Director of MOB (Moms on Board). What started off as a Facebook group and community for mothers needing help from other moms has turned into a force of change within the city. With over 11,000 active members, the MOB Facebook page can help you conquer the world.....or at least your kid's next birthday party.
.
From helping moms find the perfect Bluey party decorations to getting El Paso's all abilities playground at Ascarate, MOB gives back to the community in huge ways. Join them for their Back-To-School event July 12th, 9-12 at Bassett. This FREE event will hve free backpacks, haircuts, sports physicals, vaccines, a uniform swap, and more surprises that you really won't want to miss, (trust me, I know their secrets and it's going to be great). There will be local vendors and information booths, STEAM Projects courtesy of Marathon and a Family Zone, so make your pans to atted this free event. Did we mention it's FREE?
.
For more information find them on facebook @MOB (moms on board) or go to mobep.org
.
Find more information with pictures on Instagram or Facebook with Sunny999, 963KHEYCountry, Power102, or @amber_banda915 (IG) or @amberbanda (FB)
.
They have 2 amazing events coming up to help with the mental stress as well as some freebies includin school supplies! The first event will their "Building Minds Feeling Factory" at La Nube Saturday, July 12th. The first 400 people get FREE tickets!
.
Their other event will be their Back-To-School symposiun at the Starlight Event Center August 2nd. They will have 300 full-sized backpacks and 300 caregiver/parent bags to give away at this event. Find the QR on code on their website to register.
.
Tune in to find out more on these events and how to make the back-to-school process a whole less stressful.
.
For more information and to register for the Back-To-School symposium go to emergencehealthnetwork.org
CRISIS HOTLINE: CALL OR TEXT 988
If you want something done right, call a mom. ALL ABOARD!
Segment 2: Amber Banda talks with Mayra Garcia Lopez, Executive Director of MOB (Moms on Board). What started off as a Facebook group and community for mothers needing help from other moms has turned into a force of change within the city. With over 11,000 active members, the MOB Facebook page can help you conquer the world.....or at least your kid's next birthday party.
.
From helping moms find the perfect Bluey party decorations to getting El Paso's all abilities playground at Ascarate, MOB gives back to the community in huge ways. Join them for their Back-To-School event July 12th, 9-12 at Bassett. This FREE event will hve free backpacks, haircuts, sports physicals, vaccines, a uniform swap, and more surprises that you really won't want to miss, (trust me, I know their secrets and it's going to be great). There will be local vendors and information booths, STEAM Projects courtesy of Marathon and a Family Zone, so make your pans to atted this free event. Did we mention it's FREE?
.
For more information find them on facebook @MOB (moms on board) or go to mobep.org
.
Find more information with pictures on Instagram or Facebook with Sunny999, 963KHEYCountry, Power102, or @amber_banda915 (IG) or @amberbanda (FB)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to ol Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amberbanda, and today we have two familiar voices,
two familiar faces to me. Unless you're watching us on
social media, go check out the pictures we have. Noreene Hadramio,
Director of Communications for Emergence Health Network, Noarene, thank you
for joining us again today.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Thank you for having us back, of course, and.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
We have Krista Wingate, Chief of Child Adolescent Services for
Emergence Health Network. Krista, thank you again for joining us today.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Of course, so we're going to be talking today specifically
about back to school. Now people can go on the
l Paso Public Forum podcast on the free iHeart app
if they want to, and more about Emergence and of
course they can always go to Emergence HealthNetwork dot org
to learn about this vital and valuable resource to the community.
But again, this being aired, I can't believe we're already
(01:11):
talking about back to school. It's like the last time
you were on she was like about to get out. So, Narena,
I'm going to start with you first. We're going to
be talking about different issues that can arise when going
back to school. So what is the first thing that
you would like to touch on with this subject and
mental health?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Well, there are so many different topics related to back
to school, and I know we're going to cover them all,
but I think in general terms, and it wasn't necessarily
and I don't remember feeling like that like this when
I was a kid back in the day, right, But
it seems in this day and age, there is a
lot of stress and anxiety related to the thought and
(01:50):
the hype of getting back to school. Yeah, And for
whatever reason that is, I'm not quite sure. We're obviously,
you know, Crystal have more insight to that, but it's
just I feel that we hear more. But maybe it's
because we're talking about it more, which is a good thing.
And I'm glad that parents are more in tune to
how their kids are feeling, because everything from you know,
going from middle school to high school or elementary to
(02:13):
it it is a concern for some kids.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
And then nowadays, it seems.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Like the workload, the pressure to you know, get on
the A B on a roll, to have the ap courses,
to be taking some college purpose, yes, to get that
act or you know what is it or sat there
just seems like in a very broad you know, element
(02:37):
there's there's a lot of stress and anxiety that comes
with it, and it's almost you can feel it in
the air when you start seeing the back to school
products at the at the stores. We kind of feel it.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
The day after my daughter got out of school, they
sent us the school to playlist for the next door
I'm like, oh, I mean, I you know, thankful for
giving me all this time, but I'm like already having
anxiety over it. Maybe it's because we're parents now that
we now now we're the ones that are ancient and
the kids, you know, maybe or maybe we did have
that anxiety when we were younger, but as parents we
see it more so. Chris, let's talk about this transitioning basically,
(03:10):
which is what you were referring to of going from
like elementary to middle, middle to high school. Let's talk
a little bit about how to manage that and what
that can look like.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Yeah, I think when you're transitioning from any grade level,
any school, it's a different physical environment. You may be
getting new friends, you're also learning more about yourself as
a developing child or teenager or young adults even And
so not only are you going through body changes and
brain changes, but then when you transition from middle to
(03:39):
high school, you're also going through this change of oh wow,
I'm going to be.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
A freshman in high school.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
And it can feel intimidating and it can feel really
nerve wrecking because.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Are you going to lose your friends? What's going to happen?
Are you going to join sports?
Speaker 5 (03:53):
And so there's a lot of pressure around, just like
Noring was saying, going back to school, and I think
the pressure of I have to perform in I have
to show up for my friends, I got to show
up for my family. I got to clean my room,
I got to do my chores. Am I going to
get a job. So there's so much pressure that comes
in to transitioning from elementary to middle to high school.
Of course it's a little bit different for every grade level.
(04:14):
But kids just feel a lot of pressure, is what
we're hearing a lot of, and they just want to
be able to show up in all these different areas
of their life, and it's hard sometimes, especially when they
have a lot of conflicting responsibilities.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I'm hanging on your word because I have a fourth
grader of going into fifth grade, and again I have
a nineteen year old, so I went through the transition.
She didn't outright show. The anxiety was more inward. But
when you think that your child is having anxiety over transitioning,
even if it's from third to fourth, you know, transitioning
to a bigger grade, what are some things that you
can do or say, or how can you help your
(04:48):
child in that case.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
I think being able to have communication with your child
is really important.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
So being able to.
Speaker 5 (04:56):
Sit down with them and talk to them, maybe try
to relate to them some times that can be helpful.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Sometimes depending on the age, they might.
Speaker 5 (05:02):
Be like I don't want to hear what you did,
mom or dad, right, and so it kind of causes
a little attention. But I think if you approach the
conversation and approach your child in a way of like, hey,
I know it can be really you can feel really anxious,
and you might feel sad because some of your friends
are going to a different school. And kids just want
to be heard, They want to be validated. They don't
always want to be told what to do. You know,
(05:23):
you also want your child to be able to come
to you, to talk to you about things, And so
I think what parents can do to help ease some
of the anxiety is start the communication, start the conversation,
Bring them to a fun place and have the conversation there.
So it kind of takes the pressure away from like
being at home or going into their bedroom. So make
it a conversation and ask questions, Maybe talk about examples.
(05:45):
If you have other siblings that went through it, if
they did, maybe talk to them about it and let
them know and try to normalize what it is that
they're going through.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Definitely examplesarene Is there anything that you wanted to add
to that as far as you know, maybe something that
parents can do to kind of the anxiety of transitioning well.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
And I would ask Kristoph because as you were, as
you were expressing this I was thinking, how can we
make it We were talking about you walk into Target
or Walmart and you're seeing them back to school as
soon as they get out, So how can we make
that something that's fun as opposed to, Oh, we gotta
go get your backpack, we gotta get this. And I
(06:22):
was guilty of that when my kids were younger. I
was like, we got to have everything in place, We
got to get this, we gotta get that. So maybe
as parents, maybe are we sometimes maybe.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Oh my god, yeah projecting?
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Yeah, So how can we make it fun? And I
know you're talking about talking to them, but how can
we make it something that we get them jazzed about?
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (06:40):
And I think being able to maybe, like when you
get that back to school list, like make it fun, right,
even if you just print it out or write it
or already have the conversation with your child a couple
weeks before school, right, and try to plan it with
them and get them involved talking about it, because you're right,
If they your child sees you anxious about it and
rushing around and trying to get things done, they're going
(07:02):
to feel that, even if it's just a little bit,
it's gonna project onto them. They're gonna maybe feel it,
and then that can make them feel even more anxious.
So like taking that list and making it like a
fun activity, even giving the list to your child. Hey,
you know what, go on Amazon or Target, Walmart, pick
out some stuff.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Here's your range.
Speaker 5 (07:18):
You can your backpack and be twenty dollars, you know,
spend twenty dollars on notebooks and they take screenshots, pictures,
whatever they do. Right, Hey, mom, and this is what
I would like to buy. And so that can also
make them feel prepared. It's it's not something that's like
looming over them because they're gonna they're also having a
choice in the back to school supplies, getting so exact.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Cross of going back to school. Yeah, and you know,
just to set an appointment for later on and a
little bit, we're gonna be talking about two events that
will help you with the mental aspect of going back
to school, as well as the school supply list. And
one tip that I had given to someone else in
regards to going back to school is a week I
do a week maybe in a few days in advance.
(07:59):
You get back into the rhythm of waking up on
that time, even if you're not going back to school.
You know, my daughter for the past few years. She's
ten now, but since she was like seven, she has
an alarm that we turned on. She turns it off herself.
She gets herself ready, and so that we kind of
start doing that a few days or a week beforehand,
so they're already they're circadian rhythm, because that's a big one, right,
It's definitely not just a full blown new experience, especially
(08:20):
if you're starting a new like from elementary to middle
or middle high. Like school starts at a new time,
it ends in a new time, so that can be
very not middle school.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
They go I think the earliest of the two grades, right,
and sometimes it's early.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
I know, we'll get she really the house by seven,
so she you know, I'm like, oh, So we also
have a couple other things that we might want to
talk about. We talked a little bit about transitioning to
a new grade and then just going back to school
in general. Back to school stress, separation, anxiety, health activity balance,
social media, and test anxiety. Which one do you all
(08:53):
want to talk about first?
Speaker 3 (08:56):
If we could talk, I'll jump out there about the
separation anxiety, and I wish sharing with you guys you
know before we started this that that was something that
my daughter and I experienced, you know, firsthand. She had
a really hard time, even though she would get excited
and she loved her kindergarten teacher or you know, moving
(09:17):
into first grade and second grade, there were some days
that were really hard where she you know, was just
really crying. She didn't want to go, and you know.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
It's hard. I was that it was.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
It was hard for the parent, it was hard for her,
it was hard for the teacher, you know, and then
you drop her off and you want to go look
in the window, but you're like, no, I can't go look. So,
you know, that's a tough one that I think really
does impact a lot of people, especially in those younger,
younger ages, pre.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
K, kinder first grade. So what advice would you give
to the parents that are going through something like this.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
I wish I had advice when I was going through it,
And I know that the counselor at my daughter's school
actually wreck commended that we speak, you know, we speak
to a therapist about separation anxiety and why she was
having that. So luckily it got better. Uh, and we
should have done that. We didn't, but I think it
could really really be helpful, and looking back, I would
(10:16):
have absolutely have done that definitely.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
And actually the interview I was talking about was the
Hopes program for the Alpasso Center for Children, and he
you know, for anyone there that has a child five
and under, you can actually go there and they will
prepare for those back to school yers, especially like with
attachment styles, so that might help with maybe some of
the separation anxiety.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
And again if you're.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Just joining us, we have Noreen had Amio probably a
familiar voice, Director of Communications for Emergence Health Network, as
well as Krista Wingate, Chief of Child Adolescent Services for
Emergence Health Network. Now we have a couple more minutes
to talk about you know, back to school, uh, social
media test, anxiety, health activity and balance, and then we're
going to get into a couple of events that are
(10:57):
going to really help with boat with the mental health
health aspect and the back to school supplies. So you know,
we have health activity balance, that's a big one. How
do you try and maybe balance school and after school
activities and everything in between.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
It is it is challenging, especially for parents and caregivers
that have multiple children and multiple sports, doing multiple things,
different grade levels, maybe different schools. And so one of
the things I always love to recommend is to try
to lean into your support system. You know, see who
you can try to tap in and help. And if
(11:33):
you don't have that support system as strong as some
other people, then I think as a as a parent,
even being able to try and get yourself as organized
as you can.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
And I think when people hear that.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
They feel intimidated because they're like, well, I'm not going
to have a planner.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
I don't put things in my phone. It's like it
doesn't have to be that. You know.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
People hear these things and they think like it has
to be this really rigid thing. But it's like get
a piece of notebook paper, write down your week and
put it on the fridge. You know. Like I'm a
big advocate of like get it out of your head.
And you know, especially if it's like something that's lingering
that you have to do, just brain dump exactly.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Brain dump.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
Imagine it all come in out of your brain and
your body down, your arms onto the paper, leave it
on the paper, and then do what you gotta do.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And I have one really simple one, learn to say no. Yes,
you know like PTA, Yeah you're already like maybe you
got something go on at work. It doesn't mean that
you don't love your child anymore any less. If you're
you know, superactive in PTA, if you're killing yourself, what's
that doing for you? And your kids learn to say no?
And do they really like that activity? If you're putting
it in that because you think your child has to
(12:38):
be busy after school, then you're kind of teaching your
child like you have to go, go, go, go go
in order to be seen as successful. It's okay to rest.
You don't have to earn your rest well.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
And is that an important message that we share with
the kids. Because the kids have the pressure on them
that they feel they have to be in every AP
course and they have to be on the A, B,
on a roll and they have to be the lead
of this project and they got to start taking college
courses and Okay, I'm going to be a part of
this club, in this club because I'm trying to be
(13:08):
in you know, a national honor society. Whatever the case
may be, Chris, is it okay? And as parents, how
do we help support that for kids to say no?
I don't want to do that.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
Yeah, And I think by also giving them the power
to choose, you know, like and so that's where people
think like autonomy of okay, well, you know, especially with
older children and transitioning into high school, it's like, you know,
we're not going to be able to put you into
three sports this year, but I'm willing to sit down.
Let's think of your top five and you could pick
you know, the two out of that five. And so
(13:42):
empowering the kids to make the choice. And when you
do that, you're teaching them you don't have to always
do everything, Like do we have the capacity I don't know,
financially or support wise to get you in these five?
Speaker 4 (13:53):
All right, sure we do, but that doesn't mean we
have to do all of them.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
And so give some autonomy, give that decision making power
to your child, give them the options and choices, and
they're also going to feel empowered. You know what these are?
These are the top two. I really don't want to
do all five, you know. And so again modeling that
as a parent, Right, So, the more you practice as
a parent saying no or showing those boundaries, practicing them
with others around you, practicing them with your children.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Also is important. Your children are gonna pick that up.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
They're gonna absorb it, They're gonna ask questions because maybe they're, oh,
this is something funny, like my mom said no to
going to my aunt's house today because she's tired.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Right, yeah, like you don't care that.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
You know, there's no excuse, right No, No is a
complete sentence. It's something that we need to start all Yes,
I agree. We have a couple more minutes. I want
to talk about these events again. Emergence Health Network dot org.
You can go and they will give you some more advice,
tips and more information about back to school specifically because
it is a very stressful time. But events, you have
a couple of them coming up. I want to get
(14:51):
into this first one, Narene, do you want to tell
about talk about the event coming up at La Nube first?
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Yes, So that is planned for Saturday, July twelve, So
it's coming up relatively quickly here.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
And this is just a day at.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Lenuba Steam Discovery Center downtown and it is a family,
family event and the first four hundred guests get in free.
So we want to put that out there. Doors open
at nine o'clock and Basically, Krista and her group and
her therapists have worked closely with the folks over at
Lenuba to have they have events and activities planned throughout
(15:29):
the day that are related to mental health, so that
way parents and children can start having that conversation and
even learning some very valuable tips. Yes, and so CHRISTI
there was some fun ones that the giggle one I liked,
But how you know, laughter, We don't think about laughter
and how it's related to mental health.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
What was the last time you had a hearty laugh?
If it's been a while, you need to get into
that and get back to that just you know. So
one of the things, I mean.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I'm sorry, Can you go over some of them just relatively?
Speaker 5 (16:00):
Yeah, I think some of them that I can think
up off the top of my head. So there's one
that has to do with music. I think they have
like some sound bath things going on. Yeah, they have
one that has to do with like glowing the dark
and being able to express your feelings and you get
to make something. And they have so many I think
there is truly over twelve activities. They call them sparks,
(16:22):
and these sparks are going to be set up all
throughout La Nubee. And not only are going to be
able to go and do the spark, do the activity,
but you're going to be our staff is going to
be outside that activity, giving out goodies and handouts and
tips for parents and kids.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
And so the overall theme.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
Of everything is taking care of your mental health and
what is it that you can do when you're feeling
anxious or you're feeling sad. But the twist with La
Nube is that it gives you. It just opens up
your perspective of how to do that. So it's not
just your traditional okay, do deep breathing. It's like, no,
well we're going to go more into it. And so
those are the activities that they have planned and it's
(17:01):
just going to be such a great time or really excited.
Our staff is excited and it's a great partnership that
we have with them.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
So it's our feelings Factory, yes, and it's where we're
building healthy minds together.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Building mind building minds Feeling Factory at La Nube at
nine am Saturday, July twelve. The first four hundred people
get free tickets and you also have we have about
a minute here Back to School Symposium talk to us
about this one, because this one's also going to be
a really big help financially especially.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
Yes, we are so excited.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
So at the Starline Center on August second, starting at
ten am, we're going to be giving out three hundred
backpacks to all grade levels.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
These are full sized backpacks with tons.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
And tons of school supplies, stress balls, We've got some
really cute anxiety bears for the younger kids to stick
in there, yeah, so they can use it when they
go back. We've also have three hundred parent or caregiver
wellness bags. So these are bags that are specifically made
for caregivers because we understand and acknowledge like they're also
getting ready to go back to school, right and so
(18:02):
they need support and they need they need help, they
need the resources, and so these caregiver wellness bags have
some really great resources in there about communication, relaxation for
the parents. You know, you know there's there's some maybe
I don't know, you know, what you do on your
web out with the bag on your way.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Home to put in your bag that's to the parent, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
So again, that's the Back to School Symposium Saturday, August second,
at the star Light three hundred full sized backpacks three
hundred bags for the caregivers. Emergence HealthNetwork dot org. You
can also follow them on Instagram and Facebook for more information.
And again that hotline in case of a crisis is
nine to eight eight. Noreen and Chris, I want to
thank you so much again for being here with me.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Okay, and real quick, I just.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
Want to throw out there for the event on August second,
we have a QR code where you could register. Yes, okay,
so we ve to our website and you gave it
and there's a QR code register there and we welcome
you and we hope to see you there.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Make sure you read at Emergence Health Network dot org.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
Thank you both so much, Thank you so much, Thank
you for having us.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Welcome back to the Al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amberbanda and today we have Mara Garcia Lopez,
executive director for MOB Moms on Board. Mayra, thank you
so much for being here with me today.
Speaker 6 (19:23):
Thank you for hosting us. We'd love to be here.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
I'm so glad you're here. I was part of the
MOB community, the Mom's on Board community, which has a
huge following on Facebook and you know, it pretty much
is what you think it is. It's just moms supporting moms,
but it goes way beyond that. So, Mara, I want
you to kind of first explain to the listening audience
the birth, if you will, of Moms on Board and
(19:46):
why it was created.
Speaker 7 (19:47):
So I'm so happy to hear that you're part of
our community because that's exactly what it's about. It's about
parents supporting each other, and that's exactly how Moms on
Board was born. You know, we just have a group
of parents who you know, want a higher quality of
life for all passo and I know we're used to
an apasso. We say it all the time, right like
(20:07):
oh there's nothing to do or you know, we we
say these things. And so what Moms on Board did
is we had a group of parents who came together
and just started organically offering that resource to parents. We
created this Facebook group and that's exactly what we found.
We found, you know, parents logging in and saying like hey,
I need this, I need that, and everybody's showing up
(20:29):
for each other and making a difference in our community.
And so we organically grew. We got really brave and
bold and went to city council and asked for more
shading structures, and you know it just everybody just showed
up for our community. The city responded, and we're kind
of ground to be like this parenting support group. We
have a huge following, over eleven eight hundred active members
(20:54):
on there. You know, because when you're a parent, every
minute counts and if there's a shortcut, we're going to
show with you and say like no, this camp, that camp,
do this, don't do that. And that's what it's about, exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Reviews from actual parents that have actually done it, and
you know, like I remember in the group, Yeah, you
can go like hey my child is having this symptom,
or hey I need this kind of centerpiece for a party,
and small things like that to much bigger things like
you said, going to you know, city council and what
are some of the projects that have come to fruition
(21:29):
because of MOB.
Speaker 7 (21:30):
So one that we're particularly proud of is the All
Abilities Playground that we collaborated with the County of Apasso
to get built. We're really large city to not have
a dedicated space for children of all abilities, and so
we just got together. We found that out in our
Facebook group, you know, just kind of like the needs
(21:51):
and we went to city council and we didn't know
what we were doing. We said we're gonna raise some
money and they said we would match it. Before you
knew it, we gave them over half a million dollars.
They match the rest and we have a beautiful all
abilities playground that's built in askatat if you haven't been there,
please go. It's awesome. It's a dedicated space and it's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Can you describe a little bit about how it different,
how it's different from you know, other parks, Like what
what can people expect when they're there, like like accessibility wise,
I guess.
Speaker 6 (22:23):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 7 (22:25):
So there's just a lot of different things, you know,
like sensory tactile things. Let's say that a child is
not as mobile. There's you can get on swings, on.
Speaker 6 (22:38):
Wheelchairs and it's really fun.
Speaker 7 (22:41):
My kids, I'm you know, blessed and you know, they
don't have special needs and they have a great time there.
It's like everybody can come together and play. And that's
what it was about, you know, not having to separate
or have different you know, it's just one space where
regardless of your abilities, you can have a great time.
There's this really cool tunnel that you just kind of
(23:03):
go through there and it's got like a lot of
we incorporated a lot of like the natural you know,
trees and plants, and so you kind of go in
there and you get to explore that there's a lot
with sounds and textures and it's just really cool.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
I'm gonna have to take my daughter there, especially in
the summer when you know, you walk out of the
house and you spend like one hundred dollars, like where
did it go? You know, this is something for you.
It's a great location. And you know, with with these
types of events like or you know, projects, like you said,
you had to raise funds. What are some of the
things that MOB does to raise these funds? How can
people contribute?
Speaker 7 (23:37):
So that's a wonderful question, Thank you for asking that.
So we always have like our you know, website where
you can make a donation mobyp.
Speaker 6 (23:46):
And so there's always that option.
Speaker 7 (23:49):
And then we also have special events and so as
a matter of fact, this Saturday, we're hosting a special
event and it's not only a service to the community,
but it also helps support the MOB fund and In
addition to that, you know, we have a really large
Facebook following and you're able to advertise on there, and
the donations that we get from advertisements.
Speaker 6 (24:08):
Smart support our mission.
Speaker 7 (24:10):
So you, as a business person or as a person
providing some services, get to connect with these families and
in turn that money comes to us and we get
to put that back into the community with all the
projects that we're working on.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Oh that's smart. That makes a lot of sense. So
we're going to talk a little bit about this event
coming up this Saturday. But first again, if you're just
tuning in, we have Mayra Garcia Lopez. She is the
executive director for Moms on Board MOB. Now, maybe a
question I want to ask, does this mean that dads
are not allowed on Moms on Board. I'm sure that's
a frequent question, right.
Speaker 6 (24:44):
It's a parenting support group. And that's why we say.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
You know, one of our co founders, Adrian, she always
kind of likes to do this play on words where
we used to say that it takes a village to
raise a child, but nowadays it takes a mob, right,
And that's what this group is about.
Speaker 6 (24:59):
It's a parenting part group.
Speaker 7 (25:00):
We have a bunch of parents, even like some of
our initial members are founding members. In addition to our
two co founders, Adrian and Layla are some of our
first board members.
Speaker 6 (25:10):
We're not all moms, you know, we have some dads,
we have some grandparents.
Speaker 7 (25:14):
Again, it takes a village, and this is just about
supporting families.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Perfect all right. So if there's any dads out there,
there's no excuses and mom's on board. Find them on
Facebook joy and it's free. It's a huge resource and
they get stuff done as moms tend to do it
and they don't know, you know, where did I misplace
my this or that? Now ask your own mom. This
is different questions. So we want to talk a little
bit right now about the back to school event happening
this Saturday, July twelfth at Bassett from nine to twelve. Maya,
(25:41):
can you tell us a little bit more about what's
going to happen, What can the people expect from this event?
Speaker 6 (25:45):
We're super excited.
Speaker 7 (25:47):
Each year just keeps getting bigger and better, and this
is you know, the back to school season can be
a little stressful, especially if you have multiple children and
you have, you know, just different things on your to
do list this events with parents in mind. It is
a free event. You go to Basset Place and you
can expect to get free sports physicals. You can expect
(26:08):
to get free vaccine services if you need that. For
back to school. You can expect to get free backpacks,
free school supplies, free haircuts, and we have many more surprises.
We also have steam Zone activities for the kids. We
have a family zone, we have vendors, and what we
want is this back to school season to be less stressful.
Just go there that morning, check all your to do list,
(26:30):
you know, check them off, and just come out and
support Moms on Board. And it's completely free to our community.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Perfect. I love going to Bassett Mall. I mean small,
it's one of the smaller malls, but it's perfect for
these types of events. And Mari, you had mentioned that
people can help mob at this event. Now everything's free
from what you're saying so far, So how can people
support if they want to support future projects with Moms
on Board, Like, what can they do when they're there?
Speaker 7 (26:56):
So absolutely yes, just to clarify, the event is absolutely free.
There's nothing that you will have to pay for for
Moms on Board. Again, this is a resource for our community.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Exactly.
Speaker 6 (27:10):
Those those are the kind of deals that we're always
looking for parents.
Speaker 7 (27:13):
And so we are going to have an information table
with a couple of our moms from Moms on Board
and our parents, and we're gonna have information there and
you can certainly make a donation if this is something
that you feel really strongly about.
Speaker 6 (27:25):
You know, but that's not what this event is about.
This is about.
Speaker 7 (27:29):
Supporting our community and giving back some of those resources.
I mean, I know I have two kids, and you
know the back to school season can be a little
hectic with scheduling, doctors, appointments, and you know, you can
get it all done one Saturday morning. Supply shopping exactly,
gets to get a backpack, school supplies, a haircut, you know,
(27:49):
these sports physicals for other kids who are active in
in you know sports, they need to have those physicals done.
So this is about just coming that one day and
being like superdup.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Oh. Definitely, And if someone wanted to come in and
they were feeling extra passionate about this and maybe wanted
to be a part of making future projects happen, or
be on the board or actually volunteer physically, can they
get information on that day and how would that look?
How would that work?
Speaker 7 (28:16):
Yes, we have a couple of stations throughout the event
where we're gonna have some tables with Moms on Board
information and you can learn more about our new projects.
We're getting ready to unveil our next big project and
so we're gonna have some information about that. We're gonna
have information about getting involved and being active. And then
of course you can always just jump onto Facebook, find
(28:39):
our group and you're gonna find all the information you
need on there.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
That's true.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
So again Bassett, this Saturday, get a lot of your
back to school needs taken care of. And you know,
if you want more information, you can go to mobep
dot org on Facebook. They are moms on Board. Now
I'm going to give parents a little back to school tip.
Some of y'all may already know this. And then Maira,
if there's something you want to tell the listening audience,
(29:05):
you know, for parents back to school wise, but here
is my tip. So, my daughter is ten and she's
been doing this. I want to say for the past
four years. She's been setting the alarm on her own
very simple battery, you know, double a battery powered alarm,
she turns it off, it goes off in the morning,
she turns it off by herself, she gets herself ready.
(29:26):
Now that's one little tip, like have them turn their
alarm off to get them out of bed, otherwise it's
going to keep beeping. And the second one is, say,
you know school starts on a Monday. I think she
goes back like the twenty eighth or twenty seventh. What
I start doing at least a minimum of maybe three
days before the week before is start getting them back
onto the schedule of waking up at that time and
going to bed at a certain time. And trust me,
(29:48):
it does help. My daughter's always been real good about that.
I've never really had to fight with them to get
up on time. But just a little back to school tip,
start getting them adjusted to their back to school schedule
at least a minimum minimum of three weekdays before school starts.
What do you What do you think?
Speaker 4 (30:03):
And what is your tip?
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Mara?
Speaker 7 (30:05):
Wow, that is a wonderful tip. I love that and
I'm going to have to I'm going to borrow that.
And so for me, what I like to do is
get their things organized because we're I'm not a morning
person and so just kind of getting out the door
making sure they have everything. So they have things that
they want. You know, kids have a certain look that
(30:27):
they want for this new school year or whatever. So
I'm like, that's perfect. You know what, have you cleaned
your shoes, have you laid out your clothes, have you know?
So a couple of days before I asked them to
just kind of do an inventory of what they're going
to want, and that way we can start getting it
ready because we don't want to be doing the last
minute thing exactly.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Yeah, because they're downloading their new personality all summer right
and they're like, I'm going to go back to school
with this style or this style. That's wonderful. So, Myra,
is there anything else that you would like to tell
the listening audience.
Speaker 7 (30:56):
Yes, most certainly. I definitely want to give a shout
out to our sponsors. Las Palmazelle Soul is sponsoring the
sports physicals. Their physicians are going to be out there again.
Marathon sponsored the Steam Zone to have educational activities for kids.
Texas Gas Services has sponsored the Family Zone, a lot
(31:17):
of resources for family. The city of Apasso is doing
our vaccines, and the Lions Club has taken on the sports.
Excuse me, the uniform swap. We also have the Mount
Franklin Kawana is sponsoring the school supplies, and we have
Rai's Federal Credit Union who sponsored the haircuts. We also
(31:39):
had a lot of donations. People just really feel strongly
about this event and donate on our Facebook page, they
donate on our website. They just want to be part
of helping out families. And I want to thank all
of our community. Everybody's coming along together and it's going
to be a beautiful event where we get to lift
each other up and just support each other in this
(32:01):
what could be stressful back to school season, but it's
not gonna be stressful because you're gonna be a Bassett
on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
There you go, and trust me, you're not the only
one stress Go Let's all be stressed together if it
makes us feel better. Right, And so with the uniform swap,
I'm glad that you reminded me about that you are
accepting donations. I don't know if you have there the
six locations of where they can drop off.
Speaker 7 (32:23):
Yes, So for the for the uniform swap, it's already
taking place this Saturday. But I believe you can still
drop off some uniforms. We have all of the YMCA locations,
which is the one on the east side is Loya,
then we have bowling in the northeast, and then we
have the West Side YMCA, so those are three locations.
(32:44):
And we also have the ye WCA locations, and we
also have the Flying Colors daycare locations. So if any
of those are locations within your neighborhood, you definitely want
to take the uniforms that your kids grew out of.
You're gonna get a ouch her and the day of
the event, you get new sizes. This is a beautiful
(33:04):
orchestrated The Lion's Club has been doing this with us
and it's a beautiful system.
Speaker 6 (33:09):
Everybody wins and.
Speaker 7 (33:11):
You know you have the right sizes for your kids
gently used uniforms.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Perfect.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
And when they're that age, like you know, elementary, middle school,
I swear my daughter's growing out of stuff, like every month,
I'm like, stop, I'm going to stop feeding you. I
don't know what's happening.
Speaker 6 (33:26):
I tell my daughter wear this before you grow out
of it.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Yeah yeah, I mean, you know, my daughter's wandering around
right now and an outfit I bought her maybe a
week ago, and it's already you know, we it's time
to go shopping again. But that's why, you know, this
uniform swap is great. So I am not opposed to
having you know, gently used uniforms at the rate that
they're growing. So this is going to be a wonderful
event this Saturday nine to twelve at Bassett Center Mall.
(33:49):
And then there's a bunch of other stories there too
that you can go and you know, if you need
some other things, get some more stuff done at once.
On Facebook, it's mob Mom's Onboard. Go join, go get empowered,
get all the information you need moms, dad's caregivers and
more information at www dotmob ep dot org, mobep dot
(34:11):
org and of course on our part one O two
point one Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety six
point three k Hey, Instagram and Facebook, we will have
all this information there. So again, Mara, thank you so
much for being here with me today.
Speaker 6 (34:23):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 7 (34:24):
I'm super excited to share all about moms on Board
with your community.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of Iheartradiolpasso. If you, your organization or
event would like to be featured on an upcoming program,
please email to Epforum at iHeartMedia dot com or call
us at nine one five three five one five four
zero zero. Tune in again next week for another additional
(34:50):
of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding program was recorded
at the studios of iheartradiol Passo.
Welcome to ol Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amberbanda, and today we have two familiar voices,
two familiar faces to me. Unless you're watching us on
social media, go check out the pictures we have. Noreene Hadramio,
Director of Communications for Emergence Health Network, Noarene, thank you
for joining us again today.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Thank you for having us back, of course, and.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
We have Krista Wingate, Chief of Child Adolescent Services for
Emergence Health Network. Krista, thank you again for joining us today.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Of course, so we're going to be talking today specifically
about back to school. Now people can go on the
l Paso Public Forum podcast on the free iHeart app
if they want to, and more about Emergence and of
course they can always go to Emergence HealthNetwork dot org
to learn about this vital and valuable resource to the community.
But again, this being aired, I can't believe we're already
(01:11):
talking about back to school. It's like the last time
you were on she was like about to get out. So, Narena,
I'm going to start with you first. We're going to
be talking about different issues that can arise when going
back to school. So what is the first thing that
you would like to touch on with this subject and
mental health?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Well, there are so many different topics related to back
to school, and I know we're going to cover them all,
but I think in general terms, and it wasn't necessarily
and I don't remember feeling like that like this when
I was a kid back in the day, right, But
it seems in this day and age, there is a
lot of stress and anxiety related to the thought and
(01:50):
the hype of getting back to school. Yeah, And for
whatever reason that is, I'm not quite sure. We're obviously,
you know, Crystal have more insight to that, but it's
just I feel that we hear more. But maybe it's
because we're talking about it more, which is a good thing.
And I'm glad that parents are more in tune to
how their kids are feeling, because everything from you know,
going from middle school to high school or elementary to
(02:13):
it it is a concern for some kids.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
And then nowadays, it seems.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Like the workload, the pressure to you know, get on
the A B on a roll, to have the ap courses,
to be taking some college purpose, yes, to get that
act or you know what is it or sat there
just seems like in a very broad you know, element
(02:37):
there's there's a lot of stress and anxiety that comes
with it, and it's almost you can feel it in
the air when you start seeing the back to school
products at the at the stores. We kind of feel it.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
The day after my daughter got out of school, they
sent us the school to playlist for the next door
I'm like, oh, I mean, I you know, thankful for
giving me all this time, but I'm like already having
anxiety over it. Maybe it's because we're parents now that
we now now we're the ones that are ancient and
the kids, you know, maybe or maybe we did have
that anxiety when we were younger, but as parents we
see it more so. Chris, let's talk about this transitioning basically,
(03:10):
which is what you were referring to of going from
like elementary to middle, middle to high school. Let's talk
a little bit about how to manage that and what
that can look like.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Yeah, I think when you're transitioning from any grade level,
any school, it's a different physical environment. You may be
getting new friends, you're also learning more about yourself as
a developing child or teenager or young adults even And
so not only are you going through body changes and
brain changes, but then when you transition from middle to
(03:39):
high school, you're also going through this change of oh wow,
I'm going to be.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
A freshman in high school.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
And it can feel intimidating and it can feel really
nerve wrecking because.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Are you going to lose your friends? What's going to happen?
Are you going to join sports?
Speaker 5 (03:53):
And so there's a lot of pressure around, just like
Noring was saying, going back to school, and I think
the pressure of I have to perform in I have
to show up for my friends, I got to show
up for my family. I got to clean my room,
I got to do my chores. Am I going to
get a job. So there's so much pressure that comes
in to transitioning from elementary to middle to high school.
Of course it's a little bit different for every grade level.
(04:14):
But kids just feel a lot of pressure, is what
we're hearing a lot of, and they just want to
be able to show up in all these different areas
of their life, and it's hard sometimes, especially when they
have a lot of conflicting responsibilities.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
I'm hanging on your word because I have a fourth
grader of going into fifth grade, and again I have
a nineteen year old, so I went through the transition.
She didn't outright show. The anxiety was more inward. But
when you think that your child is having anxiety over transitioning,
even if it's from third to fourth, you know, transitioning
to a bigger grade, what are some things that you
can do or say, or how can you help your
(04:48):
child in that case.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
I think being able to have communication with your child
is really important.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
So being able to.
Speaker 5 (04:56):
Sit down with them and talk to them, maybe try
to relate to them some times that can be helpful.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Sometimes depending on the age, they might.
Speaker 5 (05:02):
Be like I don't want to hear what you did,
mom or dad, right, and so it kind of causes
a little attention. But I think if you approach the
conversation and approach your child in a way of like, hey,
I know it can be really you can feel really anxious,
and you might feel sad because some of your friends
are going to a different school. And kids just want
to be heard, They want to be validated. They don't
always want to be told what to do. You know,
(05:23):
you also want your child to be able to come
to you, to talk to you about things, And so
I think what parents can do to help ease some
of the anxiety is start the communication, start the conversation,
Bring them to a fun place and have the conversation there.
So it kind of takes the pressure away from like
being at home or going into their bedroom. So make
it a conversation and ask questions, Maybe talk about examples.
(05:45):
If you have other siblings that went through it, if
they did, maybe talk to them about it and let
them know and try to normalize what it is that
they're going through.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Definitely examplesarene Is there anything that you wanted to add
to that as far as you know, maybe something that
parents can do to kind of the anxiety of transitioning well.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
And I would ask Kristoph because as you were, as
you were expressing this I was thinking, how can we
make it We were talking about you walk into Target
or Walmart and you're seeing them back to school as
soon as they get out, So how can we make
that something that's fun as opposed to, Oh, we gotta
go get your backpack, we gotta get this. And I
(06:22):
was guilty of that when my kids were younger. I
was like, we got to have everything in place, We
got to get this, we gotta get that. So maybe
as parents, maybe are we sometimes maybe.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Oh my god, yeah projecting?
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Yeah, So how can we make it fun? And I
know you're talking about talking to them, but how can
we make it something that we get them jazzed about?
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (06:40):
And I think being able to maybe, like when you
get that back to school list, like make it fun, right,
even if you just print it out or write it
or already have the conversation with your child a couple
weeks before school, right, and try to plan it with
them and get them involved talking about it, because you're right,
If they your child sees you anxious about it and
rushing around and trying to get things done, they're going
(07:02):
to feel that, even if it's just a little bit,
it's gonna project onto them. They're gonna maybe feel it,
and then that can make them feel even more anxious.
So like taking that list and making it like a
fun activity, even giving the list to your child. Hey,
you know what, go on Amazon or Target, Walmart, pick
out some stuff.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Here's your range.
Speaker 5 (07:18):
You can your backpack and be twenty dollars, you know,
spend twenty dollars on notebooks and they take screenshots, pictures,
whatever they do. Right, Hey, mom, and this is what
I would like to buy. And so that can also
make them feel prepared. It's it's not something that's like
looming over them because they're gonna they're also having a
choice in the back to school supplies, getting so exact.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Cross of going back to school. Yeah, and you know,
just to set an appointment for later on and a
little bit, we're gonna be talking about two events that
will help you with the mental aspect of going back
to school, as well as the school supply list. And
one tip that I had given to someone else in
regards to going back to school is a week I
do a week maybe in a few days in advance.
(07:59):
You get back into the rhythm of waking up on
that time, even if you're not going back to school.
You know, my daughter for the past few years. She's
ten now, but since she was like seven, she has
an alarm that we turned on. She turns it off herself.
She gets herself ready, and so that we kind of
start doing that a few days or a week beforehand,
so they're already they're circadian rhythm, because that's a big one, right,
It's definitely not just a full blown new experience, especially
(08:20):
if you're starting a new like from elementary to middle
or middle high. Like school starts at a new time,
it ends in a new time, so that can be
very not middle school.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
They go I think the earliest of the two grades, right,
and sometimes it's early.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
I know, we'll get she really the house by seven,
so she you know, I'm like, oh, So we also
have a couple other things that we might want to
talk about. We talked a little bit about transitioning to
a new grade and then just going back to school
in general. Back to school stress, separation, anxiety, health activity balance,
social media, and test anxiety. Which one do you all
(08:53):
want to talk about first?
Speaker 3 (08:56):
If we could talk, I'll jump out there about the
separation anxiety, and I wish sharing with you guys you
know before we started this that that was something that
my daughter and I experienced, you know, firsthand. She had
a really hard time, even though she would get excited
and she loved her kindergarten teacher or you know, moving
(09:17):
into first grade and second grade, there were some days
that were really hard where she you know, was just
really crying. She didn't want to go, and you know.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
It's hard. I was that it was.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
It was hard for the parent, it was hard for her,
it was hard for the teacher, you know, and then
you drop her off and you want to go look
in the window, but you're like, no, I can't go look. So,
you know, that's a tough one that I think really
does impact a lot of people, especially in those younger,
younger ages, pre.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
K, kinder first grade. So what advice would you give
to the parents that are going through something like this.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
I wish I had advice when I was going through it,
And I know that the counselor at my daughter's school
actually wreck commended that we speak, you know, we speak
to a therapist about separation anxiety and why she was
having that. So luckily it got better. Uh, and we
should have done that. We didn't, but I think it
could really really be helpful, and looking back, I would
(10:16):
have absolutely have done that definitely.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
And actually the interview I was talking about was the
Hopes program for the Alpasso Center for Children, and he
you know, for anyone there that has a child five
and under, you can actually go there and they will
prepare for those back to school yers, especially like with
attachment styles, so that might help with maybe some of
the separation anxiety.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
And again if you're.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Just joining us, we have Noreen had Amio probably a
familiar voice, Director of Communications for Emergence Health Network, as
well as Krista Wingate, Chief of Child Adolescent Services for
Emergence Health Network. Now we have a couple more minutes
to talk about you know, back to school, uh, social
media test, anxiety, health activity and balance, and then we're
going to get into a couple of events that are
(10:57):
going to really help with boat with the mental health
health aspect and the back to school supplies. So you know,
we have health activity balance, that's a big one. How
do you try and maybe balance school and after school
activities and everything in between.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
It is it is challenging, especially for parents and caregivers
that have multiple children and multiple sports, doing multiple things,
different grade levels, maybe different schools. And so one of
the things I always love to recommend is to try
to lean into your support system. You know, see who
you can try to tap in and help. And if
(11:33):
you don't have that support system as strong as some
other people, then I think as a as a parent,
even being able to try and get yourself as organized
as you can.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
And I think when people hear that.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
They feel intimidated because they're like, well, I'm not going
to have a planner.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
I don't put things in my phone. It's like it
doesn't have to be that. You know.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
People hear these things and they think like it has
to be this really rigid thing. But it's like get
a piece of notebook paper, write down your week and
put it on the fridge. You know. Like I'm a
big advocate of like get it out of your head.
And you know, especially if it's like something that's lingering
that you have to do, just brain dump exactly.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Brain dump.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
Imagine it all come in out of your brain and
your body down, your arms onto the paper, leave it
on the paper, and then do what you gotta do.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And I have one really simple one, learn to say no. Yes,
you know like PTA, Yeah you're already like maybe you
got something go on at work. It doesn't mean that
you don't love your child anymore any less. If you're
you know, superactive in PTA, if you're killing yourself, what's
that doing for you? And your kids learn to say no?
And do they really like that activity? If you're putting
it in that because you think your child has to
(12:38):
be busy after school, then you're kind of teaching your
child like you have to go, go, go, go go
in order to be seen as successful. It's okay to rest.
You don't have to earn your rest well.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
And is that an important message that we share with
the kids. Because the kids have the pressure on them
that they feel they have to be in every AP
course and they have to be on the A, B,
on a roll and they have to be the lead
of this project and they got to start taking college
courses and Okay, I'm going to be a part of
this club, in this club because I'm trying to be
(13:08):
in you know, a national honor society. Whatever the case
may be, Chris, is it okay? And as parents, how
do we help support that for kids to say no?
I don't want to do that.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
Yeah, And I think by also giving them the power
to choose, you know, like and so that's where people
think like autonomy of okay, well, you know, especially with
older children and transitioning into high school, it's like, you know,
we're not going to be able to put you into
three sports this year, but I'm willing to sit down.
Let's think of your top five and you could pick
you know, the two out of that five. And so
(13:42):
empowering the kids to make the choice. And when you
do that, you're teaching them you don't have to always
do everything, Like do we have the capacity I don't know,
financially or support wise to get you in these five?
Speaker 4 (13:53):
All right, sure we do, but that doesn't mean we
have to do all of them.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
And so give some autonomy, give that decision making power
to your child, give them the options and choices, and
they're also going to feel empowered. You know what these are?
These are the top two. I really don't want to
do all five, you know. And so again modeling that
as a parent, Right, So, the more you practice as
a parent saying no or showing those boundaries, practicing them
with others around you, practicing them with your children.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Also is important. Your children are gonna pick that up.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
They're gonna absorb it, They're gonna ask questions because maybe they're, oh,
this is something funny, like my mom said no to
going to my aunt's house today because she's tired.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Right, yeah, like you don't care that.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
You know, there's no excuse, right No, No is a
complete sentence. It's something that we need to start all Yes,
I agree. We have a couple more minutes. I want
to talk about these events again. Emergence Health Network dot org.
You can go and they will give you some more advice,
tips and more information about back to school specifically because
it is a very stressful time. But events, you have
a couple of them coming up. I want to get
(14:51):
into this first one, Narene, do you want to tell
about talk about the event coming up at La Nube first?
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Yes, So that is planned for Saturday, July twelve, So
it's coming up relatively quickly here.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
And this is just a day at.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Lenuba Steam Discovery Center downtown and it is a family,
family event and the first four hundred guests get in free.
So we want to put that out there. Doors open
at nine o'clock and Basically, Krista and her group and
her therapists have worked closely with the folks over at
Lenuba to have they have events and activities planned throughout
(15:29):
the day that are related to mental health, so that
way parents and children can start having that conversation and
even learning some very valuable tips. Yes, and so CHRISTI
there was some fun ones that the giggle one I liked,
But how you know, laughter, We don't think about laughter
and how it's related to mental health.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
What was the last time you had a hearty laugh?
If it's been a while, you need to get into
that and get back to that just you know. So
one of the things, I mean.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I'm sorry, Can you go over some of them just relatively?
Speaker 5 (16:00):
Yeah, I think some of them that I can think
up off the top of my head. So there's one
that has to do with music. I think they have
like some sound bath things going on. Yeah, they have
one that has to do with like glowing the dark
and being able to express your feelings and you get
to make something. And they have so many I think
there is truly over twelve activities. They call them sparks,
(16:22):
and these sparks are going to be set up all
throughout La Nubee. And not only are going to be
able to go and do the spark, do the activity,
but you're going to be our staff is going to
be outside that activity, giving out goodies and handouts and
tips for parents and kids.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
And so the overall theme.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
Of everything is taking care of your mental health and
what is it that you can do when you're feeling
anxious or you're feeling sad. But the twist with La
Nube is that it gives you. It just opens up
your perspective of how to do that. So it's not
just your traditional okay, do deep breathing. It's like, no,
well we're going to go more into it. And so
those are the activities that they have planned and it's
(17:01):
just going to be such a great time or really excited.
Our staff is excited and it's a great partnership that
we have with them.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
So it's our feelings Factory, yes, and it's where we're
building healthy minds together.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Building mind building minds Feeling Factory at La Nube at
nine am Saturday, July twelve. The first four hundred people
get free tickets and you also have we have about
a minute here Back to School Symposium talk to us
about this one, because this one's also going to be
a really big help financially especially.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
Yes, we are so excited.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
So at the Starline Center on August second, starting at
ten am, we're going to be giving out three hundred
backpacks to all grade levels.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
These are full sized backpacks with tons.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
And tons of school supplies, stress balls, We've got some
really cute anxiety bears for the younger kids to stick
in there, yeah, so they can use it when they
go back. We've also have three hundred parent or caregiver
wellness bags. So these are bags that are specifically made
for caregivers because we understand and acknowledge like they're also
getting ready to go back to school, right and so
(18:02):
they need support and they need they need help, they
need the resources, and so these caregiver wellness bags have
some really great resources in there about communication, relaxation for
the parents. You know, you know there's there's some maybe
I don't know, you know, what you do on your
web out with the bag on your way.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Home to put in your bag that's to the parent, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
So again, that's the Back to School Symposium Saturday, August second,
at the star Light three hundred full sized backpacks three
hundred bags for the caregivers. Emergence HealthNetwork dot org. You
can also follow them on Instagram and Facebook for more information.
And again that hotline in case of a crisis is
nine to eight eight. Noreen and Chris, I want to
thank you so much again for being here with me.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Okay, and real quick, I just.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
Want to throw out there for the event on August second,
we have a QR code where you could register. Yes, okay,
so we ve to our website and you gave it
and there's a QR code register there and we welcome
you and we hope to see you there.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Make sure you read at Emergence Health Network dot org.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
Thank you both so much, Thank you so much, Thank
you for having us.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Welcome back to the Al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amberbanda and today we have Mara Garcia Lopez,
executive director for MOB Moms on Board. Mayra, thank you
so much for being here with me today.
Speaker 6 (19:23):
Thank you for hosting us. We'd love to be here.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
I'm so glad you're here. I was part of the
MOB community, the Mom's on Board community, which has a
huge following on Facebook and you know, it pretty much
is what you think it is. It's just moms supporting moms,
but it goes way beyond that. So, Mara, I want
you to kind of first explain to the listening audience
the birth, if you will, of Moms on Board and
(19:46):
why it was created.
Speaker 7 (19:47):
So I'm so happy to hear that you're part of
our community because that's exactly what it's about. It's about
parents supporting each other, and that's exactly how Moms on
Board was born. You know, we just have a group
of parents who you know, want a higher quality of
life for all passo and I know we're used to
an apasso. We say it all the time, right like
(20:07):
oh there's nothing to do or you know, we we
say these things. And so what Moms on Board did
is we had a group of parents who came together
and just started organically offering that resource to parents. We
created this Facebook group and that's exactly what we found.
We found, you know, parents logging in and saying like hey,
I need this, I need that, and everybody's showing up
(20:29):
for each other and making a difference in our community.
And so we organically grew. We got really brave and
bold and went to city council and asked for more
shading structures, and you know it just everybody just showed
up for our community. The city responded, and we're kind
of ground to be like this parenting support group. We
have a huge following, over eleven eight hundred active members
(20:54):
on there. You know, because when you're a parent, every
minute counts and if there's a shortcut, we're going to
show with you and say like no, this camp, that camp,
do this, don't do that. And that's what it's about, exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Reviews from actual parents that have actually done it, and
you know, like I remember in the group, Yeah, you
can go like hey my child is having this symptom,
or hey I need this kind of centerpiece for a party,
and small things like that to much bigger things like
you said, going to you know, city council and what
are some of the projects that have come to fruition
(21:29):
because of MOB.
Speaker 7 (21:30):
So one that we're particularly proud of is the All
Abilities Playground that we collaborated with the County of Apasso
to get built. We're really large city to not have
a dedicated space for children of all abilities, and so
we just got together. We found that out in our
Facebook group, you know, just kind of like the needs
(21:51):
and we went to city council and we didn't know
what we were doing. We said we're gonna raise some
money and they said we would match it. Before you
knew it, we gave them over half a million dollars.
They match the rest and we have a beautiful all
abilities playground that's built in askatat if you haven't been there,
please go. It's awesome. It's a dedicated space and it's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Can you describe a little bit about how it different,
how it's different from you know, other parks, Like what
what can people expect when they're there, like like accessibility wise,
I guess.
Speaker 6 (22:23):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 7 (22:25):
So there's just a lot of different things, you know,
like sensory tactile things. Let's say that a child is
not as mobile. There's you can get on swings, on.
Speaker 6 (22:38):
Wheelchairs and it's really fun.
Speaker 7 (22:41):
My kids, I'm you know, blessed and you know, they
don't have special needs and they have a great time there.
It's like everybody can come together and play. And that's
what it was about, you know, not having to separate
or have different you know, it's just one space where
regardless of your abilities, you can have a great time.
There's this really cool tunnel that you just kind of
(23:03):
go through there and it's got like a lot of
we incorporated a lot of like the natural you know,
trees and plants, and so you kind of go in
there and you get to explore that there's a lot
with sounds and textures and it's just really cool.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
I'm gonna have to take my daughter there, especially in
the summer when you know, you walk out of the
house and you spend like one hundred dollars, like where
did it go? You know, this is something for you.
It's a great location. And you know, with with these
types of events like or you know, projects, like you said,
you had to raise funds. What are some of the
things that MOB does to raise these funds? How can
people contribute?
Speaker 7 (23:37):
So that's a wonderful question, Thank you for asking that.
So we always have like our you know, website where
you can make a donation mobyp.
Speaker 6 (23:46):
And so there's always that option.
Speaker 7 (23:49):
And then we also have special events and so as
a matter of fact, this Saturday, we're hosting a special
event and it's not only a service to the community,
but it also helps support the MOB fund and In
addition to that, you know, we have a really large
Facebook following and you're able to advertise on there, and
the donations that we get from advertisements.
Speaker 6 (24:08):
Smart support our mission.
Speaker 7 (24:10):
So you, as a business person or as a person
providing some services, get to connect with these families and
in turn that money comes to us and we get
to put that back into the community with all the
projects that we're working on.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Oh that's smart. That makes a lot of sense. So
we're going to talk a little bit about this event
coming up this Saturday. But first again, if you're just
tuning in, we have Mayra Garcia Lopez. She is the
executive director for Moms on Board MOB. Now, maybe a
question I want to ask, does this mean that dads
are not allowed on Moms on Board. I'm sure that's
a frequent question, right.
Speaker 6 (24:44):
It's a parenting support group. And that's why we say.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
You know, one of our co founders, Adrian, she always
kind of likes to do this play on words where
we used to say that it takes a village to
raise a child, but nowadays it takes a mob, right,
And that's what this group is about.
Speaker 6 (24:59):
It's a parenting part group.
Speaker 7 (25:00):
We have a bunch of parents, even like some of
our initial members are founding members. In addition to our
two co founders, Adrian and Layla are some of our
first board members.
Speaker 6 (25:10):
We're not all moms, you know, we have some dads,
we have some grandparents.
Speaker 7 (25:14):
Again, it takes a village, and this is just about
supporting families.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Perfect all right. So if there's any dads out there,
there's no excuses and mom's on board. Find them on
Facebook joy and it's free. It's a huge resource and
they get stuff done as moms tend to do it
and they don't know, you know, where did I misplace
my this or that? Now ask your own mom. This
is different questions. So we want to talk a little
bit right now about the back to school event happening
this Saturday, July twelfth at Bassett from nine to twelve. Maya,
(25:41):
can you tell us a little bit more about what's
going to happen, What can the people expect from this event?
Speaker 6 (25:45):
We're super excited.
Speaker 7 (25:47):
Each year just keeps getting bigger and better, and this
is you know, the back to school season can be
a little stressful, especially if you have multiple children and
you have, you know, just different things on your to
do list this events with parents in mind. It is
a free event. You go to Basset Place and you
can expect to get free sports physicals. You can expect
(26:08):
to get free vaccine services if you need that. For
back to school. You can expect to get free backpacks,
free school supplies, free haircuts, and we have many more surprises.
We also have steam Zone activities for the kids. We
have a family zone, we have vendors, and what we
want is this back to school season to be less stressful.
Just go there that morning, check all your to do list,
(26:30):
you know, check them off, and just come out and
support Moms on Board. And it's completely free to our community.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Perfect. I love going to Bassett Mall. I mean small,
it's one of the smaller malls, but it's perfect for
these types of events. And Mari, you had mentioned that
people can help mob at this event. Now everything's free
from what you're saying so far, So how can people
support if they want to support future projects with Moms
on Board, Like, what can they do when they're there?
Speaker 7 (26:56):
So absolutely yes, just to clarify, the event is absolutely free.
There's nothing that you will have to pay for for
Moms on Board. Again, this is a resource for our community.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Exactly.
Speaker 6 (27:10):
Those those are the kind of deals that we're always
looking for parents.
Speaker 7 (27:13):
And so we are going to have an information table
with a couple of our moms from Moms on Board
and our parents, and we're gonna have information there and
you can certainly make a donation if this is something
that you feel really strongly about.
Speaker 6 (27:25):
You know, but that's not what this event is about.
This is about.
Speaker 7 (27:29):
Supporting our community and giving back some of those resources.
I mean, I know I have two kids, and you
know the back to school season can be a little
hectic with scheduling, doctors, appointments, and you know, you can
get it all done one Saturday morning. Supply shopping exactly,
gets to get a backpack, school supplies, a haircut, you know,
(27:49):
these sports physicals for other kids who are active in
in you know sports, they need to have those physicals done.
So this is about just coming that one day and
being like superdup.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Oh. Definitely, And if someone wanted to come in and
they were feeling extra passionate about this and maybe wanted
to be a part of making future projects happen, or
be on the board or actually volunteer physically, can they
get information on that day and how would that look?
How would that work?
Speaker 7 (28:16):
Yes, we have a couple of stations throughout the event
where we're gonna have some tables with Moms on Board
information and you can learn more about our new projects.
We're getting ready to unveil our next big project and
so we're gonna have some information about that. We're gonna
have information about getting involved and being active. And then
of course you can always just jump onto Facebook, find
(28:39):
our group and you're gonna find all the information you
need on there.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
That's true.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
So again Bassett, this Saturday, get a lot of your
back to school needs taken care of. And you know,
if you want more information, you can go to mobep
dot org on Facebook. They are moms on Board. Now
I'm going to give parents a little back to school tip.
Some of y'all may already know this. And then Maira,
if there's something you want to tell the listening audience,
(29:05):
you know, for parents back to school wise, but here
is my tip. So, my daughter is ten and she's
been doing this. I want to say for the past
four years. She's been setting the alarm on her own
very simple battery, you know, double a battery powered alarm,
she turns it off, it goes off in the morning,
she turns it off by herself, she gets herself ready.
(29:26):
Now that's one little tip, like have them turn their
alarm off to get them out of bed, otherwise it's
going to keep beeping. And the second one is, say,
you know school starts on a Monday. I think she
goes back like the twenty eighth or twenty seventh. What
I start doing at least a minimum of maybe three
days before the week before is start getting them back
onto the schedule of waking up at that time and
going to bed at a certain time. And trust me,
(29:48):
it does help. My daughter's always been real good about that.
I've never really had to fight with them to get
up on time. But just a little back to school tip,
start getting them adjusted to their back to school schedule
at least a minimum minimum of three weekdays before school starts.
What do you What do you think?
Speaker 4 (30:03):
And what is your tip?
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Mara?
Speaker 7 (30:05):
Wow, that is a wonderful tip. I love that and
I'm going to have to I'm going to borrow that.
And so for me, what I like to do is
get their things organized because we're I'm not a morning
person and so just kind of getting out the door
making sure they have everything. So they have things that
they want. You know, kids have a certain look that
(30:27):
they want for this new school year or whatever. So
I'm like, that's perfect. You know what, have you cleaned
your shoes, have you laid out your clothes, have you know?
So a couple of days before I asked them to
just kind of do an inventory of what they're going
to want, and that way we can start getting it
ready because we don't want to be doing the last
minute thing exactly.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Yeah, because they're downloading their new personality all summer right
and they're like, I'm going to go back to school
with this style or this style. That's wonderful. So, Myra,
is there anything else that you would like to tell
the listening audience.
Speaker 7 (30:56):
Yes, most certainly. I definitely want to give a shout
out to our sponsors. Las Palmazelle Soul is sponsoring the
sports physicals. Their physicians are going to be out there again.
Marathon sponsored the Steam Zone to have educational activities for kids.
Texas Gas Services has sponsored the Family Zone, a lot
(31:17):
of resources for family. The city of Apasso is doing
our vaccines, and the Lions Club has taken on the sports.
Excuse me, the uniform swap. We also have the Mount
Franklin Kawana is sponsoring the school supplies, and we have
Rai's Federal Credit Union who sponsored the haircuts. We also
(31:39):
had a lot of donations. People just really feel strongly
about this event and donate on our Facebook page, they
donate on our website. They just want to be part
of helping out families. And I want to thank all
of our community. Everybody's coming along together and it's going
to be a beautiful event where we get to lift
each other up and just support each other in this
(32:01):
what could be stressful back to school season, but it's
not gonna be stressful because you're gonna be a Bassett
on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
There you go, and trust me, you're not the only
one stress Go Let's all be stressed together if it
makes us feel better. Right, And so with the uniform swap,
I'm glad that you reminded me about that you are
accepting donations. I don't know if you have there the
six locations of where they can drop off.
Speaker 7 (32:23):
Yes, So for the for the uniform swap, it's already
taking place this Saturday. But I believe you can still
drop off some uniforms. We have all of the YMCA locations,
which is the one on the east side is Loya,
then we have bowling in the northeast, and then we
have the West Side YMCA, so those are three locations.
(32:44):
And we also have the ye WCA locations, and we
also have the Flying Colors daycare locations. So if any
of those are locations within your neighborhood, you definitely want
to take the uniforms that your kids grew out of.
You're gonna get a ouch her and the day of
the event, you get new sizes. This is a beautiful
(33:04):
orchestrated The Lion's Club has been doing this with us
and it's a beautiful system.
Speaker 6 (33:09):
Everybody wins and.
Speaker 7 (33:11):
You know you have the right sizes for your kids
gently used uniforms.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Perfect.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
And when they're that age, like you know, elementary, middle school,
I swear my daughter's growing out of stuff, like every month,
I'm like, stop, I'm going to stop feeding you. I
don't know what's happening.
Speaker 6 (33:26):
I tell my daughter wear this before you grow out
of it.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Yeah yeah, I mean, you know, my daughter's wandering around
right now and an outfit I bought her maybe a
week ago, and it's already you know, we it's time
to go shopping again. But that's why, you know, this
uniform swap is great. So I am not opposed to
having you know, gently used uniforms at the rate that
they're growing. So this is going to be a wonderful
event this Saturday nine to twelve at Bassett Center Mall.
(33:49):
And then there's a bunch of other stories there too
that you can go and you know, if you need
some other things, get some more stuff done at once.
On Facebook, it's mob Mom's Onboard. Go join, go get empowered,
get all the information you need moms, dad's caregivers and
more information at www dotmob ep dot org, mobep dot
(34:11):
org and of course on our part one O two
point one Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety six
point three k Hey, Instagram and Facebook, we will have
all this information there. So again, Mara, thank you so
much for being here with me today.
Speaker 6 (34:23):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 7 (34:24):
I'm super excited to share all about moms on Board
with your community.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of Iheartradiolpasso. If you, your organization or
event would like to be featured on an upcoming program,
please email to Epforum at iHeartMedia dot com or call
us at nine one five three five one five four
zero zero. Tune in again next week for another additional
(34:50):
of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding program was recorded
at the studios of iheartradiol Passo.
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