Pro-Life, Pro-Child,
Pro-Parents, Pro-Family –
for their Whole Lives!
One of the many privileges of getting to be a part of Safe Families for Children, North Florida is the front-row seat to seeing how a family’s story may unfold.
How they take the extended family-like care their Circle of Support offers and use the momentum to move forward and change their lives forever!
This month has already been a busy one! Here are a few of those stories – and as you read if you’d like to join us in any way in these opportunities to be a good neighbor – take that first step and let us know!
– A 16-year-old immigrant mother from Mexico had a premature she was unable to see for 21 days because her home is in Apalachicola and the baby was in NICU at TMH. Since mom didn’t speak English, we needed a Spanish-speaking host family – and one quickly stepped up! The Host Dad was just a month away from retiring – but they said yes to hosting this young mom so she could see her baby daily, and give her the bonding and love she needed to grow and thrive! Baby Katie, mom, and dad are all together in Apalachicola after a month of being hosted by this couple – and they left right after the hosting for a summer of traveling and celebrating their new season of life – and will be ready to host again when they get home!
– A young mom who aged out of foster care herself just six years ago, was living in a homeless camp and was 35 weeks pregnant when the Leon County Sheriff’s HOST (Homeless Outreach Street Team) asked her to meet with a Safe Families volunteer. They met and built some relational trust, mom agreed to go to the hospital with the volunteer for her first prenatal care. A couple of weeks later, when she was having pre-term labor, the volunteers were able to come around her, get her in a hotel to rest, and then later after she had the baby provide tangible needs she needed for baby Zepplin who was born a little early, but only spent an extra week in the hospital.
– A mom experienced domestic violence while pregnant and was relocated from South Florida to Tallahassee by authorities. When she got here, with 3 young children, the family she thought could help her couldn’t because of a crisis of their own and the $1500.00 relocation funds she received as a survivor from the state just didn’t go far enough to get them into housing. Volunteers came alongside this family for several months, hosting the children – providing much-needed items and food – and even helping the family find shelter when they ended up living in a car. When mom began experiencing pre-term labor and still hadn’t found a stable place to stay volunteers were able to help her get to family just in time to give birth to a beautiful baby boy named Kingston! Because we have chapters around the state – another chapter volunteer was able to bring her a car seat, and baby items to the hospital!
There are – of course – many other stories – but the best way to experience the transformational impact that can happen when we open our hearts, lives, and community to our neighbors – helping them keep their children safe, and their families together – is to become a volunteer. Whether you have 2 hours a month, week, or year to offer to serve – we can help you find your place!