Safe Families is a movement within the church to surround families in crisis with a caring, compassionate community in order to keep children safe and families intact. TCC partners with Safe Families to help prevent child abuse and neglect and keep children out of foster care.
What is Safe Families for Children?
In the past, when a family experienced a crisis such as job loss, hospitalization, divorce, or even homelessness, extended family or neighbors helped them by caring for their children for short periods of time. Today, however, many families are socially isolated, and their extended family is nonexistent or unable to help. That’s where Safe Families for Children comes in.
Safe Families is a movement within the church to surround families in crisis with a caring, compassionate community in order to keep children safe and families intact. TCC is partnering with Safe Families to help prevent child abuse and neglect and keep children out of foster care.
How does it work?
Church members host children in their home for short periods of time while their parents get back on their feet. The average age of children who stay in a Safe Families host home is under five and the average stay is six weeks.
Host Families do not do this by themselves. A large circle of volunteers work together to help these families in need. There are five main types of volunteers.
- Host Families take in children for short periods of time. They are screened and approved by Safe Families.
- Family Friends provide support to families in need (e.g. mentoring and transportation) and host families (e.g. babysitting and meals).
- Resource Friends provide various types of goods and services to families in need to help parents get back on their feet.
- Family Coaches are trained to provide resources and casework-like services to families in need. They also ensure that kids are well cared for in host family homes.
- Safe Families Churches are spiritual communities that support Safe Families as a ministry of their church. There are three church levels: Participating Church, Lead Church, and Community Lead Church. TCC is currently a Participating Church.
Vision
Creating a world where children are safe and families are transformed through radically compassionate communities
Mission
Safe Families for Children hosts vulnerable children and creates extended family-like support for desperate families through a community of devoted volunteers who are motivated by compassion to keep children safe and families intact.
Objectives
- Keep children safe during a family crisis (e.g. homelessness, hospitalization, or domestic violence) in an effort to prevent child abuse and/or neglect.
- Support and stabilize families in crisis by surrounding them with a caring, compassionate community.
- Reduce the number of children entering the child welfare system. We seek to be an alternative to foster care, where appropriate.
Current Needs
- More volunteers for our Circle of Support – We all have seasons where we can open our hearts and homes and conversely times when we are not able. With a large Circle of Support there is always someone available when a crisis arises. We are currently in need of more Family Coaches, Host Families, and Family Friends.
- Financially Support Safe Families – A small monthly donation or a one time gift can go a long way in keeping children safe and families intact. Use this link and click on the “Donate Online” box.
For more information, please contact Kim High.
Learn More
- Safe Families for Children Website
- Safe Families for Children Facebook
- TCC Ministry Leader kimhigh39@gmail.com