Gorczyca, Robert.

The God-Sent Grandparents Support Group was founded in the early 1990s by a social worker in the Hill District of Pittsburgh who recognized the problems facing grandparents raising their grandchildren. These grandparents met weekly in the community room of their housing project to discuss possibilities of guardianship or the adoption of their grandchildren, as well as providing time for recreation and prayer. In 1993, the support group moved to the Salvation Army's Third Street headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh, Pa., placing them closer to an organization that could provide relief for poverty-stricken families. This faith-based group provides spiritual guidance, as well as material aid such as clothing and food, to African American women in the community who have devoted their lives to raising their grandchildren while coping with crime, poverty, and other social problems. The stated goals of the God-Sent Grandparents group are to recognize the needs of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren; to provide effective social services to grandparents and their grandchildren; to challenge government to become a policy-making body securing rights and financial aid for grandparents who are primary caregivers for children; and to provide collaboration between grandparents and agencies while utilizing resources within the family system and community. In 2004, Salvation Army volunteer Robert Gorczyca conducted interviews with nine members of the God-Sent Grandparents Support Group with the hope that documentation of their struggles would bring a better understanding of the issues facing grandparents who raise their grandchildren. His play, "And the Tree Grows Strong," has been read several times for audiences in the Pittsburgh area with members of the God-Sent Grandparents group in attendence.