Caregiver Workshops
Parenting is hard work! Come connect with other caregivers and learn tools to support yourself and your family.
La Plata County
Registration is open for our Spring 2025 in-person workshops: Sign up here! To join our April 14th virtual, small-group parenting Q+A from 5:30-6:30pm, click here.
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About:
For years, community conversations around youth mental health pointed to a need for more resources for parents and caregivers to understand how to navigate challenging topics and situations with their children. In 2023, Team UP La Plata set out to fill this gap and provide consistent supports for our caregivers. Since February of 2024, Team UP La Plata has hosted seven free workshops around setting healthy boundaries in Ignacio and Bayfield to equip parents and caregivers with tips and tools to better support their kiddos. Attendees take away from the workshops numerous resources (which anyone can access below!) to continue learning about topics like communication, internet safety and cyberbullying, parenting, and more. Our workshops include free dinner and childcare and gift card drawings in appreciation of attendees’ time and energy.
This year, to reach more parents and strengthen our community, we are hosting 11 workshops across Ignacio, Bayfield, and Durango, including two in Spanish! We will also be providing five free hour-long Parenting Question and Answer small-group sessions with Rachel Turiel from January through May. Keep scrolling to see our 2025 offerings along with other parenting resources!
Workshop Details:
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Learn to de-escalate challenging situations with your child and work together to find solutions that everyone can live with, with communication coach Rachel Turiel.
Details:
Durango:Three Springs Conference Room (65 Mercado Street, Conference Room 202), April 23rd
Ignacio: ELHI Community Center, April 30th
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We know that sometimes, at the end of a long day, or when a kiddo comes home sick, going to an in-person event just isn’t an option. So this year, we are offering some virtual workshops and providing virtual, hour-long, Parenting Question and Answer sessions. Q+A sessions are with Communication expert Rachel Turiel meant to answer your personalized questions and provide support most relevant to you! To make these sessions as impactful as possible, we will be limiting attendance to 12 parents per session. Registration for each session will open two weeks in advance and will be posted on our Facebook page: Facebook.com/TeamUPSWCO
Details:
Parenting Q+As:
01/13, 02/10, 03/10, 04/14, 05/12
5:30-6:30pm over Zoom
Internet Safety with Chris Brown:
Wednesday, April 16th from 5:30-7:00pm
Understanding Challenging Behavior with Mary Jo Standard
Wednesday, May 14th from 5:30-7:00pm
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Click here to check out upcoming Montezuma and Dolores County workshops!
Resource Archive:
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La Plata Youth Services’ Chris Brown has developed a helpful workshop for parents to support them in their effort to improve their family's relationship with screen-time and tech use. Chris walks you through the "landscape" of our current tech-fueled culture, before jumping into helpful strategies, boundaries, and tools to support parents and their children navigate this landscape. Technology and screen use is a part of our lives in 2025, and Chris helps guide parents to create a healthy screen-use plan for their loved ones and themselves.
Details:
Since Spring of 2024, Chris has presented this workshop five times in La Plata County.
Resources:
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This workshop was held in Bayfield and Ignacio in the Spring of 2025. Participants learned practical tools to create more honesty, trust and openness around challenging conversations with our children.
Resources:
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Local experts Al Wolfe and Taylar Moorehouse partnered with Team UP to offer three Bullying and Peer Pressure workshops across La Plata County.
Resources:
National Bullying Prevention Center- bullying education for parents
Kids Against Bullying- Website for elementary and middle school children to learn about bullying
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This two-part workshop in Spanish was hosted by local expert Brenda Chavez Alonso with Durango SASO in the winter of 2025 to help the community navigate mental health stigma and understand how to identify and support ourselves and our child(ren) through these challenges.
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Here’s a list of other online workshops and supports available to parents and caregivers. Note that these are not affiliated with Team UP.
Ongoing Resources:
ParentGuidance.org courses on parenting by topic
Talking to Kids about Tough Topics: Resources, workshops, and courses presented by Sesame Workshop
Conversation about Youth Mental Health recording
Talking to Adolescents and Teens: Starting challenging conversations
Circle of Parents peer support groups (many have virtual options)
Virtual Stress and Trauma curriculum
Virtual Parenting Courses (Positive Parenting Skills, Child Psychology, Child Development with Whole-Brain Approach, Early Childhood Attachment Parenting, and more)
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Resources:
Selfsea- For teens to explore topics like grief/loss, friendships, consent, racism, mental health, and more
Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources- online interactive activities for children and teens to get education about drugs and alcohol
Team UP Resources:
