Orphan Care Alliance launches program to help children in crisis
By Ruth Schenk | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
When a 19-year-old single father needed help caring for his 18-month-old toddler, Southeast members Carol and Jerry Hickey took the baby into their own home.
For three weeks, this single dad didn’t have to worry about childcare while he looked for a job and a place to live.
At that time, the Hickeys were members of an Indianapolis church that participated in the Safe Families program to help children in crisis.
This year, the Safe Families program will launch in the Louisville area through Orphan Care Alliance, an adoption support organization founded by Southeast members.
The Hickeys, now members of Southeast’s Indiana Campus, are ready to help again.
Darren Washausen, executive director of Orphan Care Alliance, said the goal of beginning the program in the Louisville area is to come alongside families in crisis,
share God’s love with them, give guidance when asked, help them navigate resources in the community and prevent children from going into the foster care system.
Parents who need Safe Families most are those who have no safety net to help them through difficult times.
“Referrals will come to us through hospitals, Neighborhood Place (social-service offices), alcohol rehabilitation facilities, shelters, anywhere families land when they are
in crisis,” said Stacia Washausen, who will direct the program. “Calls we already get at Orphan Care Alliance are from single moms who must be in the hospital for
surgery and need someone to care for her children until she gets back on her feet.”
Stacia said the predominant fear in many families is that the children will be taken away.
Safe Families gives people a chance to help children even if they are not able to adopt.
“Our home is big enough and we both have good jobs,” Carol said. “We had considered adoption, but didn’t know if that was for us. Providing for a more short-term need
seemed manageable.”
The Hickeys baby-proofed their house once again, since their children were 3 and 6 years old.
They met the baby’s dad for lunch before final arrangements were made. Time together seemed to ease his worries about letting someone else care for his son, even
for a short time.
“He knew that he needed some help to get on his feet,” Carol said. “He wasn’t sure if letting someone else care for the baby was the right thing to do. But meeting us and
seeing that we were willing to help seemed to make him feel better about everything. Hopefully, we had an impact on his life. We have prayed for him ever since.”
Stacia has talked with authorities in the foster care program and believes the Safe Families program will be in demand.
“We need families who are interested in forming a relationship with a family in crisis,” she said. “We also need case coaches who will help manage communication and
make sure all notes are entered in the database. This is a great way for those who are not able to adopt to help children in crisis. We need volunteers.”
Robin Chamberlain, national director of operations for Safe Families Alliance, said it is a ministry movement that calls the church back to the forefront of caring for
orphans and widows.
“Safe Families helps us as the church mobilize to help families in the community,” she said. “It’s an ancient, biblical concept.”
According to Chamberlain, so far in 2011, Safe Families Alliance has had 1,834 hosting arrangements that served 1,140 children nationwide. To make that happen, 707
families opened their homes. Of those children, 88 percent went home with their parents, 5 percent went home with relatives and the remaining 7 percent went into more
permanent placements.
Chamberlain sees how much the program means to families who need help.
A dad who had a warrant for his arrest because of some previous legal violations needed help for his 2 1/2-year-old son.
The child would have gone into foster care if Safe Families hadn’t agreed to help him. In the three months the child was with a host family, the host father and the child’s
father developed a friendship.
“We pray that it will continue to blossom so this dad will end up seeing Jesus through this family,” Chamberlain said.
Those who volunteer to be host families are screened, have background checks, in-home screening and on-line training as well as support through family coaches.
To learn more about Safe Families, go to www.orphancarealliance.org.