NORWICH – For many parents, the everyday responsibilities of caring for a child can make them feel isolated, stressed and nervous, but one local agency is attempting to help parents and children by providing a safe setting where they can interact with each other and with their peers.

The Parents As Leaders Family Resource Center, offered through the Mothers and Babies Perinatal Network, provides a location where any caregiver with a child from birth to five years of age can enjoy scheduled activities and outings with others in a similar situation.

According to the Director of the Family Resource Centers Linda Ruffo the PAL Center offers a variety of scheduled activities for the children – such as arts and crafts and field trips – as well as a variety of informational sessions for parents on topics like safety, nutrition and parenting skills.

“The activities we provide can be anything that promotes parent-child interaction,” Ruffo said.

According to information on the organization’s web site, the resource centers are designed to “empower families, improve the health and developmental growth of young children, and reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect.”

Ruffo explained that informational resources are available at the centers including parenting books and videos and information on different programs that may be of use to parents. “If we don’t have something, we find it,” Ruffo said.

In addition to being a comfortable setting for parents and children, community organizations have also begun to utilize the facility. Ruffo explained that the Department of Social Services sometimes utilizes the PAL Center when conducting supervised visits, and that it is an increasingly popular location for different types of therapy.

Valeda MacDonald, a Chenango County Speech Therapist said she regularly utilizes the center to conduct meetings. “It grows peer interaction skills,” MacDonald said. Although the speech therapist also utilizes other community locations, such as the Guernsey Memorial Library and the YMCA’s Kid’s Gym, she said the PAL Center is still “the most child friendly facility around.”