What is Safe Families?

Safe Families for Children is a ministry of LYDIA Home Association, a Chicago-based Christian social service organization founded in 1916. LYDIA launched Safe Families in 2002 with just a few volunteers. Since then the ministry has since grown to more than 500 volunteer families serving more than 300 families in need each year, just in the Chicago area.  Safe Families is also launching in other parts of the nation.

Safe Families for Children is an opportunity for volunteers to have a powerful impact in the lives of others while practicing biblical hospitality and extending the love of Christ to people in need — all from their own homes!

Volunteers, married or single, open their homes to children whose parents are experiencing a short-term emergency, such as hospitalization, loss of a job or substance abuse. Designed to extend and strengthen the community safety net for at-risk families, Safe Families is a positive alternative to the state child welfare system, allowing parents to work on problems without losing custody of their kids. The program’s goal is to reunite children with their biological parent(s) in a home that is more stable and healthy, in part because of the contribution of the Safe Families intervention.

Parents experiencing a temporary crisis can arrange for their children (newborn through 18 years old including pregnant teens) to stay with Safe Families while they address the issues that led to instability in their lives. Children are matched with families in their own community, whenever possible, and placements average from two weeks to two months. During that time, Safe Families caseworkers provide volunteers with support and answer any questions they might have.

Biological parents maintain custody during the placement and are encouraged to be actively involved in their children’s lives, as well as develop a relationship with the volunteer family. Safe Families caseworkers keep in close contact with the parents and the referring organization to determine when families can be reunited.

To learn more, please follow these links:
Unleashing the Family by Dr. David Anderson, founder of Safe Families for Children.
To become a Safe Family, please download the Application and Reference Form.