You can keep children safe and families together
The call
About safe families
When a family is facing crisis, kids can become vulnerable to neglect and abuse. No family should experience this.
Why your help matters
How you can help
Make a difference in your community.
Step in for families
Answering the call
Our faith calls us to protect the vulnerable.
FAQs about Safe Families
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Host Family:
Open your home as a temporary, safe place for a child whose parent needs extra support.
Family Friend:
Encourage and strengthen families facing crisis by performing small tasks. Make a difference by offering support, encouragement, mentoring, transportation, or babysitting to a parent who may be feeling isolated and has no support.
Resource Friend:
Give items such as furniture and bicycles to families struggling with life challenges. Donating these items can meet families’ critical needs. Support can look like providing a meal, diapers, cleaning items, or gift cards that help parents as they work through crisis.
Family Coach:
Walk alongside a parent, helping them meet their goals and connecting them with volunteers to ensure their needs are met.
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We generally require volunteers to be 25 years or older, but exceptions can be made.
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First, fill out our contact form. We’ll connect you to a Safe Families coordinator in your area who will help you identify the best-fitting role for you or your family. You’ll complete an application, take part in an interview and home assessment, and submit references and information for a background check. You’ll then participate in online training.
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Some families face crises like unemployment, homelessness, or deep financial stress. In other cases, parents need time to recover from substance use or mental health challenges.
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While we can care for newborns through adolescents (0-17), the average age is 4-6.
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There are many ways your church can get involved. A few ideas are to:
-Provide gift cards to grocery, clothing, and home goods stores or for public transportation such as bus passes or Uber/Lyft gift cards.
-Make and distribute meals to Host Families when they host a child.
-Create and manage a clothing and supply closet at your location. Host a drive for requested items such as various sizes of clothing, coats, diapers, baby items, etc.
-Offer professional expertise and donations of services such as dental, medical, budgeting, resume writing and interview skill building, or legal services.
-Transport adult clients to appointments after approval as a Family Friend.
-Help as an office assistant by answering the phone, doing data entry, etc.
Step in for a child
Children are safer when their families are stronger. You can make the difference.
Get connected with Bethany
Every family deserves to feel safe, loved, and connected—especially when facing a crisis. Step in and support a family when they need it most so they can take essential steps toward stability. Together, we are keeping children safe and families together.