Has your heart ever been torn to shreds after reading a tragic news story about a child who suffered because there weren’t enough people who cared? Have you ever wished there was something you could do about it?
Here at We Are Madison County, we’re all about stories. I’m going to tell you a story about how a tragic story broke our hearts in such a way that it would change our actions.
Quite a few years back, when my husband still had a desk job, he managed to pass the hours by keeping up on current news stories. My husband has a bit of a bleeding heart, and many times he would come home and share a particularly difficult story that would cause us both to lower our eyes in despair because there was simply nothing to say. There was one story in particular about a boy named Robert that left a mark on both of our hearts.
The story was tragic. Robert, 7, had been court mandated to have visitation with his mother, although his father had fought hard for full custody. On one of his mandatory weekend visits, he was so severely beaten by his mother’s boyfriend that Robert died. My husband read about his kind disposition and how he was known to be a sweet child who always gave his teachers lots of hugs. His little face even reminded him of our own son.
This story broke my husband in a way I hadn’t seen before; it was the icing on the cake for him. We had struggled through quite a few other tragedies in our life, but for some reason this little boy did him in. I could see the depression sink in as he struggled to reconcile the tragic reality of our world with his faith.
This little boy left a spot on our souls. His story left us with the feeling that living this life for the pursuit of the almighty dollar or even for just ourselves wasn’t enough. Something in us changed.
A few years passed by. Last summer I offered to let my neighbor’s daughter come over to hang with us while her dad worked. She liked our house so I let my neighbor know she was always welcome. Eventually the little girl started coming over with her cousin. I could tell things weren’t very stable with the little girl’s cousin and she would say things like, “I think my house is a hotel…” I didn’t ask many questions, but let my neighbor know the girls were welcome anytime for as long as they needed to stay.
The girls would spend the night and even stay for 2 or 3 days at a time. My husband—remarkably—was ok with this. He was patient with these girls, loving and kind. We happened to be in the middle of a huge bathroom tear-out and when the cousin became curious, following him around the house as he worked hard on completing our bathroom project, I was blown away by his patience and willingness to even allow her to help him. He didn’t know what her life was like at home, why she was living in a hotel, or if she had a daddy or not. But he showed kindness to the young strangers in our home that summer.
Little did we know that allowing a few neighbor girls to spend time with us was laying the foundation for something bigger to happen. We were being prepared for the moment when the mother of our neighbor’s cousin would call us because she was at the end of her rope and thought perhaps we could be of some help. We were being prepared for becoming a Safe Family so that we could provide a temporary home for the little girl (and her younger brother), who had been living in a hotel while their mother worked hard to get back on her feet. It was our opportunity to act, to do something about all those tragic news stories.
Right now, in Madison County, there are kids who are on the brink of abuse and neglect because their parents are in crisis. Maybe their parents can’t find work. Maybe they were evicted. Maybe there is no one they can depend on.
Safe Families for Children helps families that are in crisis. This incredibly unique program actually allows the parents to voluntarily place their children in the home of a “safe family” while they work to get back on their feet without falling into the hands of the system.
Here in Madison County we have a handful of incredible host families. They are some of the most gracious and kind people I have ever met… and we need more. Many of our placements are short term but life changing. Additionally, we will receive funding from the Department of Child Services for each family processed in June. If there has been a knock on the door of you heart, please consider stepping up to assist a child in need.
You never know how your life might be changed when we choose to open our hearts and our homes to a child who is in need.
For more information go to INsafefamilies.org or email Emma at ejohnson@safe-families.org
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