Arizona has 62,433 grandparents responsible for their grandchildren, and one Valley nonprofit is lending support.

Duet: Partners In Health & Aging has introduced a new way to support grandparents or kinship caregivers with its GrandKin Café, which launched this month.

GrandKin Café is a community where grandparents and kinship caregivers can connect with others facing similar journeys. Duet provides a space to learn about community resources and explore topics that impact grandfamilies.

GrandKin Café brings in community organizations to share their services and programs with special topics like healthy relationships, self-care, child development, and discipline, and also offers a hub of resources and supportive fellowship.

Phoenix locations:

• Ahwatukee: 9:30-11 a.m., second Wednesday of each month at Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 South 48th St.
• Central Phoenix: 9-11 a.m., second and fourth Thursday of each month at Duet's offices, 10000 N. 31st Ave., Suite. D200.
• Virtual: Various times, look online at https://duetaz.org/grandparents-kinship-support-groups/

These families are taking on the role of a parent and are responsible for the children physically, emotionally, and financially. It can be a challenging but much needed role for families who are dealing with an illness, substance abuse, loss of a parent or other circumstances that do not allow for a parent to care for their child.

Email Lisa McCormick at mccormick@duetaz.org or call 602-274-5022, ext 114, for more information.