Acadiana’s The Family Tree Gets Major Grant

The Family Tree's Healthy Start Program will be receiving close to a million dollars a year to help pregnancy outcomes for before, during and after pregnancy.

Each year The Family Tree will receive $980,000 serve the seven parishes of Acadiana including Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin and Vermilion.

The group will be helping to improve maternal and infant outcomes as our area has infant mortality rates that are at least 1 and 1/2 times the U.S. average.

The Family Tree Executive Director Marie Collins says,

The Healthy Start Program provides information, resources, and in-hone support to pregnant women and parents of children age 18 months and younger. This ensures a health pregnancy and helps mons and dads engage in nurturing parenting practices. This support is critical to addressing the significant racial and ethnic disparities in the rates of preterm birth and infant death in Louisiana.

Collins says they are a community-based agency that can offer families either low-cost or no-cost help.

About The Family Tree Collins adds,

The seed of The Family Tree was planted in 1979 for an agency to help create stronger families and ultimately, a stronger community.

If you want to find out more about this program you can go to www.acadianafamilytree.org.