Carrie Ray, Garland County Outreach Specialist for Healthy Families Arkansas, was a featured speaker at the recent Garland County Alliance Meeting titled “Caring Where It Counts: In-Home Services Making a Difference.” The meeting, held in Hot Springs and organized under the 100 Families Initiative of Garland County, brought together organizations committed to helping families move from crisis to stability through coordinated community efforts.
Representing Healthy Families Arkansas, a program of Healthy Connections, Ray described the important work of providing home-based family support services to first- and second-time mothers.
“Ideally, we like to enroll our moms—either first- or second-time moms—when they’re prenatal,” Ray said during her presentation. “That way, we can start providing lessons about bonding, taking care of themselves prenatally, even talk about breastfeeding, and line up all the resources they need to feel confident when the baby arrives.”
Ray emphasized how overwhelming those early moments of parenthood can be and the value of having a consistent, supportive resource. “No matter what support you have, when you have a new baby, it’s scary. It’s overwhelming. You’re exhausted. So, we just try to be that support system for our new moms—help them, encourage them, and guide them in bonding with their babies,” she said.
Healthy Families Arkansas provides no-cost services to eligible families in Garland and Polk counties. As part of the broader 100 Families framework led by Restore Hope Arkansas, this initiative brings together agencies to streamline access to the resources that families need most.
To learn more about Healthy Families Arkansas, visit https://healthy-connections.org/healthy-families-arkansas or call 888-710-8220 ext. 572.
