Mike and Shea Cocklereece, Lindsey Wlliamson, Jason Faircloth, and his wife Lindsay Faircloth are part of the Leadership Council of the local chapter of the national organization Safe Families for Children. The mission of this non-profit is to give families at risk some temporary support to lessen the risk that their children could end up in the foster care system. The goal is to involve people from churches to act as “community” to these families (something most of us have through family, friends, and co-workers), to offer temporary housing, babysitting, financial help, counseling, etcetera until the parents are able to get over the hurdles that are putting their children at risk. The average time a child might stay with a host family is 6 weeks.
Over 50,000 children have been placed with volunteers — who are thoroughly vetted and trained — with 95% of the children returning to their parents, under careful scrutiny. The advantages of this program are that it’s less upsetting to the child, no court is involved, and the children stay out of our overcrowded foster care system.
To be a hero to a family in crisis, please consider becoming a benefactor or volunteer through at least the end of the year. If you think your church might be interested in becoming a volunteer community for Safe Family for Children, a representative will be glad to come talk to your congregation about the roles of volunteers.
For more information, see the website https://safe-families.org/.
