Parenting Plus

Service has always been at the heart of Gena’s work.

Gena Meyer, Executive Director of Parenting Plus, entered the social services field because she wanted to help people navigate difficult seasons of life with support and respect. Early in her career, while working within the Bexar County system, she began seeing incarcerated men and women who still wanted to be parents. Parents who still worried about their children; still wanted to be involved in their lives; and still wanted to become better mothers and fathers. 

She saw a need that wasn't being fully met.

Parents on the inside needed practical tools, encouragement, and meaningful opportunities to stay connected to their role as parents. That experience became the seed for Parenting Inside Out classes and, eventually, something much larger.

Later, through her work with Catholic Charities and other community programs, Gena saw the same pattern from a different angle. Families were trying. Parents were doing everything they could to provide for their children, but too often the resources available were limited, difficult to access, or simply not enough.

She saw families struggling to pay for diapers, clothing, baby supplies, and other basic necessities. Not because they weren’t trying, but because sometimes trying still isn’t enough. She saw how easily asking for help could come with shame.

That mattered to her.

When Parenting Plus was founded in 2019, dignity became part of its foundation. Families receiving assistance are treated with respect, and all items are provided new, not because gently used items have no value, but because every parent deserves the experience of choosing something clean and new for their child. Sometimes, this is the first opportunity for people to have anything brand new.

Parenting Plus was built on the belief that needing help is not failure. People do not fail because they need support.

Sometimes systems fall short. Sometimes circumstances become overwhelming. Sometimes families simply need someone to help bridge the gap.

Parenting Plus exists to be part of that bridge, providing education, resources, encouragement, and practical support while reminding every family who walks through the door that they are worthy of dignity, respect, and hope.