First Wave Families Holds Ribbon Cutting Event on New Facility

Crisfield, Md. — Families across the Eastern Shore now will have access to a new family support facility that has opened in Somerset County. First Wave Families held a ribbon cutting Thursday for its new facility in Crisfield which will provide support for expectant families and families with children through age four.

The organization will also offer parent education, child development, socialization opportunities and more. It’s services will give parents in Somerset County and the surrounding area a way to connect with other parents and get support.

“Parenting does not come with a manual. You leave the hospital with a baby, and that’s about it. So, we like to help fill that gap. And just give folks, a safe space to talk about anything that’s going on in their life that is helping or hindering their parenting progress,” said Jocelyn Snelsire, the director at First Wave Families.

“We want to be able to offer them information, offer them support, offer them education if they have some questions, and really just give them the opportunity to meet with other parents, to sort of learn from shared experiences, to know that they’re not alone,” Snelsire added. 

Snelsire said that giving kids and parents the opportunities to have interactions with their peers and socialization is a major way to set them up for success, especially for when they enter the educational system.

“I feel like it gives them a big head start on their education and on their development. We want to we want these kids to be as ready for school as we can make them, and what we want our parents to be as ready for their kids to get to school as they can be,” Snelsire said.