Safe Families is a “movement of families giving hope to children and parents.” That hope comes from Jesus and his amazing love for us. What does someone do if a parent becomes sick or needs someone to watch the kids while they figure things out and they have no one they trust to watch their kids? Many have no one they can call and this can lead to abuse or neglect. This is where Safe Families come in. It is a church lead ministry that can help reduce the number of kids in Foster care and ministers to the whole family. Learn more from the website (http://www.safe-families.org) by watching videos or reading more information.
There are a few families at Faith Baptist that are involved in Foster Care or have done it in the past. We also desire to serve our community and help others. Safe families is an opportunity to help those we don’t always interact with. Currently we are promoting the organization and seeking God and determining the interest in our congregation.
There are many ways to be involved with Safe Families. Host families are the ones that provide a loving and safe home for the children. There are 5 steps to becoming a host family. Fill out an interest form, have a home visit, get about 4 hours of online training, do fingerprinting for a background check, and get letters of recommendation. Bethany Services is the proctor, which will help you through the process and ensure that host families are a safe place.They will then pair you with a Family Friend and a Family coach (more about them in the coming weeks or online) to give you the support you’ll need.
“By becoming a Family Friend, your relationship encourages and strengthens another family so that they may thrive. Small things, like dropping off diapers or babysitting for a few hours, provide valued encouragement to families and an opportunity to build relationships that families in crisis often desperately need… Family Friends are trained volunteers that are supported by a network of resources that includes community development organizations, schools, clinics, counselors and churches. ” [http://www.safe-families.org]
Please take a few minutes and watch a video or read more about Safe Families. Perhaps God will speak to you and call you to helping children and parents by opening your home or by supporting a family who does.
Here’s a recent article from the Argus Leader Safe Families offers temporary foster care
Submitted by Kevin Logan (Faith Baptist Member)