Health Without Barriers, a six-week program created and run by Colorado State University that works to break down barriers between parents and children, will start May 27 in Dolores.
The no-cost program helps families with children ages 11 to 19 learn to be “happier and healthier” by building communication and coping skills and by taking hands-on cooking and nutrition classes.
Parents and teens are invited to attend together, and younger siblings are also invited. Classes will be held Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Dolores Community Center, 400 Riverside Ave., from 5:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. for six weeks.
Dinner will be provided. The class can accommodate about 10 teenagers and their families, up to a total of about 31 people.
“It’s a family-inclusive program, so every single family is welcome to participate,” German-Palacios said.
The first night, dubbed “multidisciplinary night,” will involve multiple activities, including physical movement for teens and their siblings and breathing exercises to teach teens to pay attention to their emotions.
“Pay attention to your body. Our body always tells us, so we just teach our teens to pay attention to that,” German-Palsacios said. “It’s OK to have emotions, learning how to navigate them. If you feel angry, just be OK with it and navigate the emotion. We provide the tools to do that.”
Families can expect to create weekly goals, enjoy shared meals and take home ingredients after nutrition sessions. Families are encouraged to go through the learning process together
“The new habits that we are learning create empowerment,” German-Palacios said. “They will also be discussing family support, which are expectations, how to create rules in their house, to praise their child, how to recognize when they’re doing a good job, and how to say that. We also discuss nutrition, physical activity and creation of goals. We create weekly goals and they can do it any of the components that they wish with the focus on their family. ‘How do I want to create this habit?’”
At the end of each class, the group will end with a family dinner as a group.
“We want to recover that time because our busy schedules sometimes don’t allow us to be together as a family and enjoy each other and enjoy our conversations,” German-Palacios said.
Families will learn how to cook, starting with hand washing, how to hold a knife, cross-contamination and food safety before cooking together.
“It’s really amazing. … They enjoy it, and the collaboration creates a beginning path,” German-Palacios said. “Recognizing that it helps the parents by letting them take the lead on cooking. After we finish cooking, we sit down together and eat as a big family again, and that is really fun.”
The nutrition and cooking part of the course also includes label reading and how to shop on a budget. After cooking a meal, families will receive the ingredients to replicate the meal at home. Six months after the program, organizers of Health Without Barriers meet with the families and see what kind of support they need.
“What we want is to spark lasting changes into our families,” she said.
For information, reach out to German-Palacios at (970) 286-1866 or Lyndsey at (970) 657-0141 or equitablefamilywellness@colostate.edu.
