Tricks and treats aside, October is also National Head Start Awareness Month, and Gilliam Head Start Center celebrated with a parade and trick-or-treating for the kids Thursday.
The center on Martin Luther King Drive invited the children to wear their Halloween costumes. The children and parents then walked through the halls, gathering candy and other treats from the caregivers.
“We wanted to let the public know this was Head Start Awareness month,” said Bobbie Carter, family community worker. “There is no cost for the program. We only ask that the parents occasionally volunteer.”
A 2004 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that Early Head Start parents “demonstrated greater reductions in stress” than control group parents.
Patricia Blackshire, director of Gilliam Head Start, said the service benefits low-income families in the community. The program currently hosts 435 regular Head Start students and 75 Early Head Start students and holds classes for 23 expecting mothers.
“We do a lot of important things for children in the community,” Blackshire said. We provide them with physical, mental and dental health screenings, two meals per day and a lot more.”
Research from the Department of Health concluded that among children from comparable backgrounds, participants of Early Head Start were more likely to be in line with the national average of mortality rates for 5-to- 9-year-olds.
In addition to observing the children, the caregivers also pay attention to their educational development. A learning curriculum and assessment of the child’s progress are carefully monitored.
“We even offer a second language, Spanish, for children in the program,” Blackshire said.
Another report from the Department of Health found that Early Head Start programs increase cognitive development, vocabulary and social-emotional development.
The Gilliam Head Start Center is operated through the Mississippi Action for Progress, a nonprofit organization.
