Wednesday, March 14, 2007

The Grandparents' Rock Star

On Monday, I made a dash to New York to join Senator Hillary Clinton in talking about the difficulties faced by grandparents and other relatives raising children, as well as the Kinship Caregiver Support Act (S. 661).

I thanked her for all her work, and spoke about the legislation and how important it is for so many people. We were at the GrandParent Family Apartments, which were designed and built for grandparents raising their grandchildren. It’s a really special place – and I was so excited to meet the families who live there and to see old friends. I want to thank Dave Taylor, whose organization (Presbyterian Senior Services) runs the Apartments, for this picture. Dave, his staff, and their partner organization West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing Inc, did a wonderful job hosting the event. I’m afraid the photo only gives you a glimpse of just how lively and colorful the space is, but I can tell you that it’s a wonderful place, with wonderful families living there.

Actually, the whole visit was incredibly exciting. It was like hanging out with a rock star! Of course, the Senator is often followed by the press, and she has Secret Service protection as well as her staff. People started to gather outside the center when they saw the cars and cameras and someone started a chant: “Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!” She signed photographs and stopped to talk to the crowd: it really was quite an experience!

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