OJC’s Safe Families receives a grant from the KC Royals!

We are so incredibly thankful and honored that our Safe Families for Children program has received a grant from the Kansas City Royals MLB baseball foundation. We were notified about this in November and were able to use these funds to buy computer equipment for our office and staff to use in the field in order to recruit and equip more safe families and help more children and families in crisis.

Partnerships with churches and organizations are essential to the work we do in strengthening children and families. Safe Families is blessed to have 8 churches and 15 organizations as partners and friends in the KC Area and are grateful for their continued support.

Video News Report on Safe Families KC

Click here to read the story…

Caring for Single Moms in our Community

At six o’clock on a Friday night, most people around the metro are busy bustling home to feed families or get ready for their evening plans, but on September 21, 2012, more than 50 volunteers from OJC and Safe Families joined Mountain of Myrrh and descended on The Daniel Academy’s grounds in South Kansas City to bless Single Mothers and their families.

More than 80 moms attended the event, 60 of which were new to Mountain of Myrrh’s ministry altogether. Mothers were able to spend time being blessed and rejuvenated with haircuts, manicures and chair massages. The children played with bubbles, arts and crafts, and a bouncy house. Chick-fil-A’s Cow brought smiles to so many children and adults as did Sparky the Clown.

We heard mothers say, “I have not had a haircut in over two years!” And the children exclaim, “this is the best day of my life!” while running around sword fighting with her balloon sword. Others were blessed by the food offering at the event. Dinner was served to all who attended as well as a grocery bag of goodies sent home before the moms left. We were so blessed to reach out to so many families in the area.

OJC / Safe Families KC All-Volunteer Gathering

April 3rd will be a great night as we hear from our OJC Leaders, highlight Safe Families, Foster Families and Adoptive Families, as well as hearing stories and experiences from our OJC and Safe Families Volunteers, Family Coaches, etc.

We’ll also have a time of training at each of these events that you will NOT want to miss. We are lining up some amazing speakers to speak to us about Justice, Working with the Poor, Understanding Poverty, and many other both practical and theological topics that move our hearts closer to Jesus and encourage us in works of justice for the fatherless and the orphan.

When: April 3rd, 6pm – 8pm
Where: IHOPU Campus, Room 107,
12901 S. US Highway 71, Grandview, MO 64030
Who: Anyone interested in OJC or Safe Families KC, All OJC Volunteers/Staff, All Safe Families KC Host Families, Volunteers & Staff
How to RSVP: http://ojc_april_2012.eventbrite.com

Please RSVP so we can make sure we have enough space.

YouShare.org – Connecting People with Needs to People with Resources

Youshare.org connects families with critical needs to people who can fulfill those needs. It’s an opportunity for people to share their resources and develop relationships that will lead to better lives.

You can be part of this adventure in sharing, whether you are an individual looking to improve lives through sharing or an organization that serves people with critical needs.

The idea for youshare.org began when we heard about a caring mom who simply needed two mattresses for her kids. Recently employed after a period of homelessness, she was trying to furnish her new apartment. Local social service agencies knew there must be extra mattresses out there somewhere — but found it difficult to hunt them down with their other responsibilities weighing on them as well. She eventually found the mattresses on her own, but it wasn’t easy.

Youshare.org was created to serve people in this very situation. It goes one step further than simply meeting immediate needs. Youshare.org helps foster personal relationships that will help families in crisis build a better life.

Visit youshare.org and sign-up today, fill out your profile and begin finding out how you can help people in need in your own community!

Safe Families Helps One Mom Get the Help She Needed

Ivan & Tina

Tina came to us a couple of months ago not knowing what she was going to do. She was struggling, like many of the single mom’s we meet, and needed to check into the hospital for 2 weeks of inpatient and 2 weeks of outpatient.

She made the difficult decision to place her 5-year old son Ivan with Safe Families volunteers Wendy Bisset and Anthony and Tricia Henson. However, she knew it was the right decision, as she put’s it “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for me and my son. Because of you and Safe Families, I was able to get the help I needed and be at ease knowing that my son was well taken care of. I was so afraid that my son would be taken from me had someone found out everything that I was dealing with.” 

Ivan stayed with the Henson family for about 30 days. During that time Tina called many times during each week to see how Ivan was doing. She was able to complete her stay at the hospital and was reunited with Ivan in January of 2012. Since then she has joined a single mom’s group in the Henson’s community.

She emailed me recently and said “It makes me sad to think of what would have happened to Ivan had it not been for you, Dianne, Wendy, The Hensons, and of course Safe Families. I thank God everyday for all of you!! You are all now a part of our family! What a blessing you and your organization are! I feel very fortunate and honored to know you!! You exude God’s love. Had it not been for Safe Families, I don’t know how my son and I would have made it! Thank you, Adam, so very much for who you are and for all that you do! I pray that God continue to bless you, your beautiful family, and Safe Families KC!”

This story is a great example of how Safe Families can turn lives around. This program is growing in the Kansas City Metro both in Missouri and Kansas, thanks in large part to the support of donors like you—and volunteers like the Hensons, who give so generously of their time and energy.

I hope you will help Safe Families start the year strong with a gift of $50, $100, $250 or even more. We will use it wisely to help children and families in crisis who count on us for support.

We can only do this as we move forward together, volunteers and partners sharing the love of God to the community around us. Join with us this year. Let our story be your story.

Sincerely,

Adam Parker
Director of Safe Families

Safe Families Info Meeting – Jan 24th, 6pm

We are having our first Safe Families For Children Info Meeting on Tuesday, Jan 24th, 2012 at 6pm. Our friends at the First Church of the Nazarene have graciously offered to host it for us and we are very excited to join them.

This info meeting is open to everyone in the community and we want to invite all families, singles, pastors, missions leaders, community leaders, business owners, workplace professionals and more to this info meeting to hear about how we can join together as a faith community in Kansas City to help children and families in crisis.

At this info meeting we will give an overview of Safe Families For Children including what’s involved in becoming a Host Family for a child and family in crisis as well as the many ways you can help if you are not able to be a host family. We will also have interviews with current host families and their experience hosting a child. You’ll also get a chance to meet our family coaches.

There is a huge need to help children and families in crisis in our city. Will you extend your hand to someone in need? Come find out how.

Safe Families For Children Info Meeting

Date: Tuesday, Jan 24th, 2012
Time: 6pm – 7:30pm
Location: First Church of the Nazarene
11811 State Line Road
Kansas City, MO 64114

Registration is required. Please register free using the form above or by clicking the link below: http://safefamilieskc_1.eventbrite.com/

And Then There Was One…

As I closed the door to my car and sat there for but a few moments… I let out a sigh. Wow, we’ve helped our first family. A single mom is going to be able to get the care she needs and the 5 year old boy will be in a safe and loving family who cares not only for the boy, but for helping the mom.

One of our family coaches, Dianne Kidner, was there and was just such an unbelievable support to the mom and didn’t miss a beat. I get to work with the best! And then the connection between the safe family and the mom… the tears…

I love this job.

Adam Parker on Safe Families For Children at Orphan Sunday

Adam Parker on Safe Families For Children from OrphanJusticeCenter on Vimeo.

Announcing Safe Families For Children Kansas City

After many years of much prayer, research and discovery we are launching a new program in Kansas City called Safe Families For Children to help children and families in crisis. Safe Families For Children is a national ministry we are partnering with to bring to KC as a program of Orphan Justice Center.

Already we have more than 40 people intersted in working with Safe Families in some capacity or volunteering to be a Host Family for a child. We also have an amazing staff on our Safe Families team that I will soon introduce you to.

Several months ago I went to Chicago to for training and orientation and toured their operations. We met with a family coach who was working with a victim of a human trafficking bust that happened the week before in Chicago. One of the girls was 17 and her aunt’s house was not a safe place and was given the option by the response unit to either go to a homeless shelter or to go live with a Safe Family. She chose the Safe Family. Her story brought even the seasoned police and social workers to tears and she was placed with a family who had previously been in Africa on an extended missions trip working with human trafficking victims. God knew exactly what she needed. We are excited to see the lives impacted for the Kingdom as we reach out in compassion to the poor and the homeless and empower the Church of Kansas City to begin to open their homes to the broken and wounded souls of our city.

The Lord is shining an incredible light in the darkness here in urban areas of Kansas City where the average age of a homeless person is 7 years old.

We hope to make many new friends and partners in this community as together we bring hope and the love of Christ to many children and families in crisis.

Adam Parker
Director of Safe Families KC
adamparker@safefamilieskc.org