The Grand Experience — Episode 08
"The Legacy Lives On"
Featuring Frankee, Adult Raised by Grandparent, Grandparent Caregiver

Short Description
What happens when a child raised by her grandmother becomes a grandmother raising grandchildren herself? In this powerful full-circle conversation, Frankee reflects on being raised by her grandmother alongside her sisters and how those lessons of love, discipline, education, faith, and perseverance now guide her as she raises her own granddaughters. This episode is a moving reminder that caregiving is more than a responsibility. It is a legacy that can shape generations.

Show Notes
For many grandparent caregivers, the story begins when they step in to raise a grandchild. But for Frankee, the story began much earlier.

Raised by her grandmother along with her sisters, Frankee grew up experiencing firsthand the love, sacrifice, structure, and unwavering commitment grandparents often provide when families face difficult circumstances. Her grandmother made sure there was food on the table, education remained a priority, and life lessons were taught with honesty, accountability, and compassion.

Years later, Frankee found herself stepping into a familiar role, becoming the primary caregiver for her own granddaughters, discovering that many of her grandmother's values had quietly become the foundation of her own caregiving approach.

In this deeply personal episode, host Dr. Schola Matovu and Frankee explore the connection between being raised by a grandparent and later becoming one — reflecting on childhood memories, family resilience, the importance of education, and the balance between protecting grandchildren and letting them learn life's lessons on their own.

Episode Highlights

• [01:28] Frankee reflects on the home where her grandmother raised her and her sisters
• [03:53] How her grandmother became her central caregiver from early childhood
• [07:54] Lessons from a childhood bicycle accident and the importance of accountability
• [11:44] The full-circle moment of becoming a grandmother caregiver herself
• [12:10] Why education became a lasting family legacy
• [16:41] Letting grandchildren make their own mistakes
• [20:31] Building trust with teenagers
• [26:07] How family support systems have evolved over generations
• [35:45] Frankee's hope for the legacy she leaves her granddaughters

Key Quotes

• "My grandmother never tried to take the place of our mother. She always reminded us she was our grandmother."
• "She taught me right from wrong, even when I didn't want to hear it."
• "You have to let them go. You have to let them learn."
• "Everybody deserves to be heard, young and old."
• "Show the love that you would want someone to show you."
• "Be strong, full of forgiveness, and love no matter what."

Resources Mentioned
GRANDfamilies, school-based resource programs, community food and clothing assistance, holiday assistance programs, faith-based support networks, and peer support for grandparent caregivers.

Call to Action
If Frankee's story resonated with you, take a moment to reflect on the people who shaped your life. Whether you're raising a grandchild today or were once raised by a grandparent yourself, consider sharing your story.

These stories preserve family wisdom, strengthen communities, and remind grandparent caregivers that their love continues long after childhood.

The Grand Experience is hosted by Dr. Schola Matovu, a platform amplifying the voices, wisdom, and resilience of grandparents raising grandchildren.

The Grand Experience – Episode 07

Finding Hope Through Guardianship, Recovery, and Reunification

Grandparent Caregiver Perspective: Jennifer

Description:

What happens when a grandparent steps in to keep children safe during a family crisis, and later faces the difficult task of letting go when healing begins? Dr. Schola Matovu sits down with Jennifer, a grandmother who became legal guardian of her two grandsons amid domestic violence, addiction, mental health challenges, and family instability. Jennifer shares the realities of raising grandchildren, supporting her daughter through recovery, and navigating the emotional complexities of reunification.

Episode Notes:

Grandparent caregiving often begins with a life-changing decision: "If I don't step in, who will?"

For Jennifer, that decision unfolded gradually, evolving from helping a young daughter navigate early parenthood into becoming full-time caregiver and legal guardian of two grandsons amid domestic violence, substance use, and uncertainty.

Host Dr. Schola Matovu welcomes Jennifer to share her journey of becoming not only a legal guardian, but what Dr. Matovu describes as an emotional guardian for multiple generations of her family. Jennifer reflects on the crisis that led to guardianship, and the decisions required to keep the children safe while supporting her daughter's recovery, from schools and healthcare to finances and legal processes.

Jennifer describes helping her grandsons cope with questions about absent parents while preserving their relationships with both, and how structure, routines, and giving children a voice helped them feel safe. She also speaks openly about the toll on grandparents: balancing compassion for her daughter with protecting her grandchildren, and the guilt many caregivers carry.

One of the most unique parts of her story is reunification, a transition that gets far less attention than caregiving itself. After years of recovery and growth, Jennifer's daughter petitioned to regain custody. Jennifer shares the hope, fear, and grief of that transition, and what it means to trust the recovery process. Her story reminds us that healing is possible and relationships can be rebuilt.

This episode is ultimately about love in action: stepping forward when children need protection, staying present through uncertainty, and having the courage to trust again when healing begins.

Episode Highlights

• How Jennifer gradually became the primary caregiver for her grandsons
• The family crisis that led to legal guardianship
• Helping children navigate uncertainty and parental absence
• Creating stability through routines and consistency
• Balancing love for adult children with protecting grandchildren
• The financial, legal, and emotional realities of raising grandchildren
• The importance of counseling, community, and Grandfamilies programs
• Navigating reunification after years of recovery
• Learning to accept help and build a support network
• Jennifer's advice for grandparents facing difficult circumstances

Call to Action
If this conversation resonates with you, share it with a grandparent caregiver, counselor, educator, or community advocate. And if you are raising grandchildren yourself, remember Jennifer's message: you do not have to carry the weight alone. Build your community. Accept support. Give yourself grace. And hold on to hope.

The Grand Experience is hosted by Dr. Schola Matovu, dedicated to amplifying the voices, wisdom, and triumphs of grandparents raising grandchildren and the communities that support them.

The Grand Experience — Episode 06

“Rebuilding Peace”

Featuring Lorraine, Grandparent Caregiver

Lorraine never expected to become a full-time caregiver again. But when substance use, unsafe living conditions, and parental absence placed her granddaughter at risk, she made the difficult decision to step in. What followed was a journey of cleaning up a home contaminated by drugs, navigating guardianship, seeking counseling for both herself and her granddaughter, and rebuilding a sense of safety and peace.

Host Dr. Schola Matovu sits down with Lorraine to discuss her journey from concerned grandmother to full-time caregiver and legal guardian — the painful reality of watching addiction affect her family, the decision to set boundaries with her daughter, and the moment she knew her granddaughter's needs had to come first. Lorraine also opens up about her own healing: seeking counseling, learning boundaries, and finding peace after years of carrying her family's struggles.

Episode Highlights
[01:52] The peaceful home Lorraine built after years of family turmoil
[03:15] Recognizing the chaos and instability inside her home
[04:23] Realizing her granddaughter was being exposed to substance use
[05:39] Changing the locks to put her granddaughter's safety first
[08:06] The hospital incident and reaching her breaking point
[08:39] Discovering drug paraphernalia and starting the cleanup
[11:50] Finding support through GRANDfamilies and legal guardianship
[15:29] Getting her granddaughter into counseling
[16:29] Seeking counseling for herself
[18:46] Rebuilding the home after decontamination — a fresh start
[20:14] Asking her granddaughter if she'd want to go back — "I feel safe"
[21:36] Building honesty and trust through an "open door policy"
[32:10] Learning to prioritize peace and set healthy boundaries
[32:47] Watching her granddaughter grow into a confident young girl
[35:10] Reflecting on what she's most proud of

Key Quotes
"I had to make some decisions for the safety of my granddaughter." [06:06]
"I didn't know where to go. I didn't know where to turn." [11:28]
"I feel safe." [20:40]
"She keeps me going." [21:16]
"We can work through them together." [21:49]
"You kind of forget yourself sometimes." [31:53]
"Don't be a follower. Be a leader of yourself." [24:24]
"If I don't put a stop to the things causing havoc in my life, I'm never going to have peace." [32:31]
"Being able to see her accomplishments is what makes me proud." [35:10]

Resources Mentioned
GRANDfamilies — guardianship assistance, legal navigation, caregiver support groups, educational programs, resource referrals
Mental Health Supports — individual counseling for grandparents, children's counseling, trauma-informed programs
Community Resources — recreation and youth programs, swimming lessons, family support networks

Call to Action
If Lorraine's story resonated with you, share this episode with a grandparent caregiver, social worker, counselor, or family member supporting a child through difficult circumstances. And if you're raising a grandchild yourself: protecting a child's future also means protecting your own peace.

The Grand Experience is hosted by Dr. Schola Matovu, amplifying the voices, wisdom, and resilience of grandparents raising grandchildren.

The Grand Experience — Episode 4

"Atlas Carrying the World"

What happens when Atlas collapses? One grandmother on raising a teenager alone, with no one to catch her if she falls.

Featuring Debbie, Grandparent Caregiver

Episode Description

Debbie describes herself like Atlas — holding the world up alone, with no idea what happens if she collapses. Host Dr. Schola Matovu talks with Debbie, who became her newborn grandson's primary caregiver when her daughter's schizoaffective disorder made parenting impossible — and thirteen years later is still carrying it: guardianship paperwork and a teenager with autism and ADHD.

Episode Notes

Near the end of this conversation, Debbie reaches for an image that says it all: she feels like Atlas, carrying the world, wondering what happens if she collapses. It's striking, coming from someone who spends the rest of the episode cracking jokes about kitty litter and messy couches — humor and exhaustion, side by side.

Debbie stepped in as her grandson's primary caregiver when he was a newborn, after her daughter's schizoaffective disorder made safe parenting impossible. What was supposed to be temporary became permanent.

Debbie talks candidly about formalizing guardianship, the paperwork proving she isn't misusing her grandson's money, and raising a "wickedly intelligent" teen with autism and ADHD on a fixed income. She's honest about resentment too — toward a daughter who lives in a trailer in her backyard yet accuses her of keeping her grandson away.

At the center of it all is something simpler: Debbie's determination that her grandson never feel like a burden. "I am his safe person," she says.

Episode Highlights

·  [01:50] Take Us Home — the "chaos" of Debbie's house and choosing which battles to fight

·  [03:19] How it began: her daughter's schizoaffective disorder and stepping in as primary caregiver

·  [07:57] Walking a tightrope between letting her daughter parent and meeting her grandson's needs

·  [08:15] "Parental leave isn't given to grandparents" — juggling full-time work with a newborn's care

·  [15:17] The moment guardianship became necessary, and navigating it through GRANDfamilies

·  [17:17] What caregiving looks like now, raising a 15-year-old with autism and ADHD on a fixed income

·  [18:00] Her advice to grandmothers starting this journey: never let the child feel like a burden

·  [30:25] The ongoing tension with her daughter, who lives in Debbie's backyard but remains distant from her son

·  [36:39] "I feel like Atlas carrying the world" — Debbie on fear for her grandson's future and her own aging

·  [40:40] Practical advice: "swallow your pride and ask" about discounts, and the value of support groups

·  [50:46] What Debbie hopes her grandson remembers most about her

Resources Mentioned

·  GRANDfamilies (Children's Service Society of Utah) — guardianship guidance and classes

·  Utah Parent Support — discount tickets and resources for families raising children with disabilities

·  DSPD (Division of Services for People with Disabilities) — disability services with long waitlists

·  Autism support groups and mental health providers

Call to Action

Debbie's advice to other grandmothers: find one connection, even just one. If this episode resonated with you, share it with a caregiver who needs to hear they're not carrying it alone.

The Grand Experience is hosted by Dr. Schola Matovu, centering the voices and wisdom of grandparents raising their grandchildren.

The Grand Experience — Episode 5

"Finding Support: Navigating Schools, Services, and Community Resources"

Guest: Ashley Yaugher, Faculty, Utah State University Extension Health and Wellness

Episode Description

Where do grandparents go when they suddenly find themselves raising children again? Dr. Schola Matovu talks with Ashley about resources, technology, schools, substance use, and family transitions — and what real support looks like for grandparent caregivers.

Grandparent caregivers often ask: "Where do I even begin?" Whether due to substance use, incarceration, mental illness, or family instability, they suddenly face systems they never expected to navigate — school enrollment, healthcare, technology, legal paperwork.

Ashley specializes in substance use prevention, recovery support, and caregiver education. The conversation traces back to a moment after an opioid education program, when grandparents asked her: "What resources are available for grandparents raising grandchildren?" — a question that became a catalyst for understanding the gaps in support for grandfamilies.

They discuss technology and online safety, urban vs. rural caregiving, trauma-informed care, and access barriers like transportation. Ashley's message: parenting doesn't require perfection — it requires safety, connection, stability, and the willingness to ask for help.

Episode Highlights

[02:23] "It's okay not to be perfect" — Ashley's opening message

[04:02] The opioid-education encounter that revealed a gap in support

[06:33] Why grandparents struggle to find resources — technology as a challenge

[08:53] Urban vs. rural differences in Wi-Fi and after-school access

[11:01] How substance use and trauma shape caregiving

[11:47] The role of empathy in supporting grandchildren and parents

[15:13] Gaps in caregiver-specific education and support

[17:23] Community resources grandparents may not know about

[21:48] Leaning on pediatricians, DCFS, and local offices

[23:53] A four-step framework: safety, self-care, support, connection

[32:56] How libraries, senior centers, and schools can help

[35:22] Ashley's vision for a community-centered support model

[39:12] Three lessons every caregiver should remember

Key Quotes

"It's okay to not be perfect and to not know what to do."

"You're missing this group of people that need this information."

"One caring adult can change a child's trajectory."

"You don't have to do this alone."

Resources Mentioned

Utah State University Extension — extension.usu.edu. Also discussed: pediatricians, DCFS, libraries, senior centers, schools, faith groups, therapy.

Three Things to Remember

1. Take care of yourself first.

2. Connection matters more than perfection.

3. You are not alone.

Call to Action

If this resonated, share it with a grandparent caregiver or educator. If you're raising grandchildren yourself: you don't need to know everything — start where you are, focus on safety and connection, and ask for help.

The Grand Experience is hosted by Dr. Schola Matovu, amplifying caregiving stories and community resources for grandparents raising grandchildren.

website: thegrandexperience.org

The Grand Experience — Episode 3

"Not Designed for Us"

Grandparent caregivers save taxpayers $10.5 billion a year — so why isn't policy built for them?

Guest: Jaia Peterson Lent, Deputy Executive Director, Generations United

Episode Description

Behind every grandparent raising a grandchild is a maze of legal, medical, and financial systems never built with them in mind. Host Dr. Schola Matovu talks with Jaia Peterson Lent of Generations United about how national policy shapes support for grandfamilies — and why kinship caregivers save taxpayers $10.5 billion a year.

Episode Notes

We've heard from grandmothers about the day-to-day reality of an unexpected parenting role. This episode steps back to look at the policies, programs, and advocacy that shape what support grandfamilies actually get.

Dr. Schola Matovu talks with Jaia Peterson Lent, Deputy Executive Director of Generations United, home to the National Center on Grand Families. Jaia has spent nearly 26 years at the intersection of policy, research, and advocacy for grandparents and relatives raising children.

Together, they trace how systems built for parent-headed households or foster families still struggle to serve kinship caregivers — from licensing rules, Medicaid, to a little-known TANF safety net. Jaia explains why testifying on Capitol Hill drives real legislative change.

At the center is a striking number: kinship caregivers save taxpayers an estimated $10.5 billion a year by keeping children out of foster care — often at real cost to their own health and savings. As Jaia puts it, the systems weren't designed for them.

Episode Highlights

• [02:38] Take Us Home — Jaia shares the story of a family whose grandchildren received far less support than the unrelated foster children in the household
• [06:13] Inside Generations United and the National Center on Grand Families
• [10:06] Why systems built for parent-headed families and unrelated foster parents still struggle to serve kinship caregivers
• [13:03] What it means for caregivers to testify on Capitol Hill — and why it moves policymakers
• [21:59] A rundown of current policy wins and threats: licensing reform, Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF
• [31:20] Why naming grandparent and kinship caregivers explicitly in law matters
• [35:04] The "Heart, Head, and Hands" framework for effective advocacy
• [38:40] The legal steps kinship caregivers need to know: custody and medical/educational consent laws
• [42:21] Jaia's closing takeaways for caregivers and advocates
• [44:38] The $10.5 billion figure — what it means and why it should change the policy conversation

Resources Mentioned

• Generations United — home to the National Center on Grand Families
• GrandFamilies.org — click "Need Help?" for a map of local support programs
• GRANDfamilies of Utah (Children's Service Society) — cited as a model "exemplary program"
• Medical and Educational Consent Laws — state-level legal tools allowing kinship caregivers to access school and medical care without full custody

Call to Action

Grandparent caregivers save the country billions each year while sacrificing their own health and financial security. If this resonated with you, share it — and know that support exists, even if it takes digging to find.

The Grand Experience is hosted by Dr. Schola Matovu, centering the voices and wisdom of grandparents raising their grandchildren.

The Grand Experience — Episode 2

"Not Grandma Anymore"

Featuring Nanci, Grandparent Caregiver

Episode Description

At three, Nanci's grandson lost his mother to addiction — and Nanci lost the chance to just be "Grandma." Host Dr. Schola Matovu talks with Nanci about trading spoiling for structure, fighting for legal custody mid-pandemic, and becoming her grandson's stability instead of his favorite person. It's a raw, honest look at what it takes to become a parent again — and why it's worth it.

Show notes

When Nanci's grandson came into her care at three, she didn't get a warm handoff — she got a phone call. His mother, in the grip of addiction, had dropped him off and never came back. What followed was a crash course in becoming someone she never expected to be: not the fun grandmother who spoils, but the one holding it all together.

In this episode, host Dr. Schola Matovu — herself raised by her grandmother — sits down with Nanci for an honest conversation about stepping in as a full-time caregiver: going from "a museum" of a quiet home to full-blown chaos, rebuilding a toddler's sense of safety, and fighting for legal custody while worried her daughter could resurface. She talks candidly about grief that isn't allowed to look like grief, and the friends and therapist who helped her carry it.

But this episode isn't just about hardship — it's about the found family that made it possible: a great-grandmother who exists purely to spoil, an auntie who fills in what Nanci can't give anymore, and a program called GRANDfamilies that helped her navigate a legal system never built with grandparents in mind. It's also about small joys, like the time a "bad egg" turned into a family duck.

Nanci's story is a reminder that grandparents raising grandchildren aren't just filling in — they're rebuilding a whole world, one routine and one hard conversation at a time.

Episode Highlights

• [00:02] Take Us Home — Dr. Schola Matovu opens with her signature segment; Nanci takes us from "a museum" to chaos, dogs, cats, and a duck
• [05:40] How her grandson came into her care after his mother's relapse
• [11:30] The hardest part of the transition: from "willy nilly" to structure
• [12:50] Grieving the identity of "Grandma" while becoming the disciplinarian
• [19:00] Navigating the question: "Where's my mom?"
• [21:30] Therapy, friendship, and "crying in the shower"
• [23:00] GRANDfamilies: the program that helped her get legal custody fast
• [36:00] Watching her grandson go from scared to thriving
• [40:30] The role of "Gigi" (great-grandmother)
• [48:00] What Nanci hopes he carries with him into adulthood

Resources & Acknowledgments

• GRANDfamilies (Children's Services Society) — support program for kinship/grandparent caregivers in Utah, including legal custody help. Available in Salt Lake and Tooele counties.
• This research project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Grant GBMF9048), supporting Dr. Schola Matovu as a fellow of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators.

Call to Action

New episodes of The Grand Experience release every Tuesday, honoring the wisdom, love, and resilience of grandparent caregivers. If this episode resonated with you, share it — and follow along wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Grand Experience is hosted by Dr. Schola Matovu, a space centering the voices, realities, and wisdom of grandparents raising their grandchildren.

The Grand Experience — Episode 1

"Raised by a Healer"

Featuring Dr. Schola Matovu, Host, Researcher, Adult Raised by Grandparent

In conversation with Indrias Kassaye, host of Mental Health Trailblazers: Psychiatric Nurses Speak Up!

Episode Description

Before she became a researcher studying grandparent caregivers around the world, Dr. Schola Matovu was raised by one — her grandmother, a revered village healer in Uganda. In this special introductory episode, Indrias Kassaye, host of Mental Health Trailblazers: Psychiatric Nurses Speak Up, turns the mic around to interview Dr. Matovu about the grandmother who shaped her, the global scope of grandparent caregiving, and the story behind The Grand Experience@ podcast.

Episode Notes

To kick off The Grand Experience, the mic gets turned around. In this first episode, Dr. Schola Matovu is in conversation with Indrias Kassaye — host of Mental Health Trailblazers: Psychiatric Nurses Speak Up! — who interviews Dr. Matovu, the researcher and nurse behind this podcast, to ask the questions many listeners will want answered before diving in: who is telling these stories, and why?

Dr. Matovu was raised by her grandmother, Ms. Matilda Nabowa, in a small village in Uganda during the 1980s, at the height of the HIV epidemic. Known locally as a "Musawo" — an informal healer and midwife — her grandmother treated the sick, delivered babies in the nearby banana plantation, and became Dr. Matovu's earliest model of what it means to care for a community with nothing but knowledge, herbs, and devotion. That relationship, formed without formal schooling or literacy on her grandmother's part, planted the seed for Dr. Matovu's path into nursing and, eventually, into research.

In this conversation, Dr. Matovu widens the lens from her own story to a global one — connecting the grandmother-headed households of HIV-affected Uganda to the grandparents raising grandchildren in the wake of the crack epidemic in the U.S., the opioid crisis in rural America, and beyond. She makes the case that grandparent caregiving isn't a niche or regional story, but a deeply human pattern that repeats across cultures whenever crisis and systemic neglect leave a gap — and grandparents, more often than not, step into it out of love, duty, and faith.

She also shares what inspired The Grand Experience itself: a podcast built to amplify the voices of grandparent caregivers, bring in experts across health and social services, and create cross-cultural solidarity among a population she calls "hidden family caregivers."

Episode Highlights

• [00:23] Dr. Matovu on being raised by her grandmother, Ms. Matilda Nabowa, a village healer in Uganda
• [03:03] Why her research centers grandmothers specifically, and what "grandparent caregiving" means as a global phenomenon
• [04:45] Connecting grandparent caregiving across the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the crack epidemic, and today's opioid crisis
• [06:51] What gives Dr. Matovu hope: the strength she sees connecting caregivers from rural Uganda to Utah
• [08:21] The story and mission behind The Grand Experience podcast

Resources & Acknowledgments

• Referenced statistic: more than 28,000 children in Utah are under the care of their grandparents
• This research project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through Grant. GBMF9048 to support Dr. Schola Matovu as a fellow of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators.

The Grand Experience is hosted by Dr. Schola Matovu, a space centering the voices, realities, and wisdom of grandparents raising their grandchildren.