Safe families
Safe Families have an ambitious vision to see thousands of local Christians right across the UK offering hope, belonging and support to their community’s most vulnerable children, families and care leavers.
Safe Families already have over 4,500 trained and supported volunteers from over 1,000 churches and community groups across the UK. This year they expect to support 1,300 families, connecting them with these volunteers so they no longer feel isolated and are being supported to stay together and thrive.
These relationships bring hope and practical help, they encourage, they provide the support of a good friend, neighbour, aunt or grandparent that many of us would take for granted. And without whom our own stories could look very different.
The need is huge and there is a growing care crisis with rising numbers of children in care and early help services being cut across the country. Safe Families has a model that works; having effectively demonstrated the ability to reduce the flow of children into care, to sustain families in the community and to increase the sense of hope and connection that families have; ultimately enabling them to thrive, happy and secure.
To find out how to volunteer, pray or donate go to safefamilies.uk
When a crisis strikes a family with children, its effects can be devastating. Many of us would turn to relatives and friends for support but some families can be really isolated with nobody to help them.
Stabilising families before they reach a breaking point is key to reducing the number of children who need to go into care. Safe Families has been privileged to help over 6240 children since it was launched in the UK in 2013, with nearly 800 in Greater Manchester* in this year alone.
Volunteering can change a life
Our team includes social work qualified staff who assess the risk of families referred in from local authorities and then create a support plan before linking to our valued volunteers.
There are 3 ways to volunteer and help a family in need :-
- Family Friends who offer emotional support to parents or take children under 12 out on activities,
- Host Families who offer 1 or more nights respite care for under 12’s and
- Resource Friends who have no direct contact with families but offer donations of quality or new goods needed by families
(All of our Volunteers undergo a 7 step training process to ready them for supporting vulnerable families including DBS and reference checks. )
You could also offer life changing support to a family by meeting fortnightly with a parent or child under twelve for 3 to 6 months.
Safe families stories
How you can get involved
Host Family volunteers can have a powerful impact on the lives of struggling families, especially when the family needing help don’t have a network of family and friends that they can turn to.
Host Families open their home to children while the child’s parents/carers resolve short-term crises.
Host Families will generally be ‘empty-nesters’ with grown-up children, or families with their own children still around the house – but with a room to spare. Host Family volunteers will almost always be people who have lots of experience of parenting that they can lean on.
Some host families are also willing to get alongside the parents/carers to offer ongoing relational support, whether in practical ways or as moral support, something that is encouraged by Safe families.
Once approved, Host Family volunteers will be notified of families in need of support by email or text message, in accordance with your preferences. You will have the option to tell us how many children you feel able to support, the preferred age range and gender of children you are able to accommodate, as well as when you are available to volunteer. This gives you complete flexibility to control how and when you are contacted by Safe families.
Our Host Families tell us that they find the experience very rewarding, and the families being helped often describe the provision of the hosting as a lifeline.
Responsibilities of a Family Friend may include, but are not limited to:
- Moral support and encouragement to parents/carers in difficulty.
- Parenting support and development of parenting strengths for struggling parents/carers.
- Babysitting, transport and other practical help either in direct contact with the parents/carers in difficulty or as support for host families.
- Sharing helpful information about parenting or supporting parents/carers in accessing services that they need.
- Advocating with/for families if they need help voicing their concerns or needs to other agencies.
Becoming a Family Friend requires a level of screening and training, but you will be assisted through the process.
A family in crisis cannot always provide everything their child needs and may lack the support of family and friends. The stress of their situation can lead to depression, untreated ill-health, chaotic lifestyle choices and child neglect, making it impossible for families to break the cycle of difficulty. But when families in need receive support from caring people, change is possible. With Safe Families, such a relationship begins with your help.
Safe families is founded on a network of volunteers willing to support parents/carers in caring for their children.
For those who wish to contribute to making a difference, but are unavailable or unable to be a Host Family looking after a child or a Family Friend getting alongside parents/carers, Safe families provide a number of opportunities to offer other resources and skills.
A Resource Friend does not have contact with the family in crisis but demonstrates their compassion through donating much needed resources; from cots, toys, nappies, furniture or clothing, through to kitchen appliances, food and pots of paint! All of these items and more can be linked to families desperately in need using our online Safe families database. Donations will also be used to support host families who are looking after children but do not have the necessary equipment or resources.
Alternatively, you may have skills such as gardening or cleaning which could be very significant for families in reducing their stress. Resource Friends also have the option to offer these skills to help improve a family’s ability to overcome a crisis. Please remember, it is not only the families we help in need of resources; our Host Family volunteers may need a stair gate or car seat to help care for a child and Resource Friends can make the difference to ensure this support is possible.
Family Coach volunteers play a crucial role within Safe Families, as they bring a wealth of care, compassion and experience to help facilitate the support provided to families in crisis. The role of the Family Coach is to ensure the smooth arranging of, and progress through, Safe families involvement for a family.
The Family Coach supports and oversees the help a Host Family or Family Friend gives to children and parents/carers, ensuring that it is working in the best interests of each child. The Family Coach also supports the parents/carers, connecting them with needed services or resources both within Safe families and in the wider community.
A Family Coach will facilitate the initial contact between families and volunteers and will maintain contact throughout the support process to ensure everyone involved has a friend close by. This network provides reassurance for everyone involved with Safe families and offers the ability to quickly change support arrangements, should circumstances change for volunteers or families.
A Family Coach may be an experienced volunteer of Safe families or have a background in social care and support. Becoming a Family Coach allows you to make a significant contribution to the movement.
Contact Safe families
To find any more information out about Safe families use the contact form below to get in touch!