The Kid Expo held by the Santa Clarita Child and Family Center welcomed parents and their children of all ages Sunday to Golden Valley High’s gym.

Looking to bring together youth-oriented organizations and kids, Child and Family Center event organizers said the goal is to showcase services and activities.

“For years, Child and Family Center has been hosting Kid Expo,” said Joan Aschoff, president of the Child and Family Center, “which is a place for the community to come and find out all about community businesses and organizations geared towards children.”

Presented with myriad booths, children roamed around Golden Valley High’s gymnasium, learning about mending wounds with staff of the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and building words with Santa Clarita Public Library staff.

A family visiting KHTS Radio’s booth at the Child and Family Center’s Kid Expo.

“It really is allowing parents to see what kinds of things children are able to do in our community,” said Linda Davies, the executive director for the Domestic Violence Center of Santa Clarita. “That just helps with their mental health and their family connections.”

Community engagement is what the newly merged Child and Family Center and Domestic Violence Center hope to achieve with the event.

“We know that people that stay engaged and are connected in a community have better support systems, they’re more resilient, their mental health is better,” said Aschoff. For kids, the engagement is even more important, she added.

“Especially with kids, when there’s just too much downtime where they’re not engaged in something,” Aschoff explained, “it’s not conducive to them developing in a way that they can go on and do well in school, and stay engaged and stay connected to their community.”

In order to achieve their mission helping kids attain stronger mental health, the Child and Family Center uses proceeds from the expo to fund services they provide.

“For those who don’t have insurance, or can’t afford we use this money to provide the services the community needs,” she added.

Along with raising more funds, the Child and Family Center and Domestic Violence Center hope to unify youths and their families with the various organizations at the expo.

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