Across the UK volunteers from more than 500 churches have actively supported vulnerable families through Christian charity, Safe Families for Children. The charity opens the door into the community for Christian volunteers by connecting families needing support with those able to give it.
In a time where national statistics show volunteering levels have declined by 15 per cent over a decade, the charity has seen increasing numbers of volunteers stepping forward.
Safe Families for Children partners with churches of all denominations and many church leaders see it as a practical way for the Church to “love their neighbour”, engaging with and supporting vulnerable families in the local community – something churches are already eager to do.
A recent survey of 1,094 Anglican church leaders by the Church Urban Fund and the Church of England, found 80% of church leaders surveyed agreed that “community work helps church members to live out and grow in their Christian faith” and 97% agreed that “engaging with the poor and marginalised in the local area is a vital activity for a healthy church”. The survey found that increasingly churches are partnering with other local organisations such as schools (78%), other churches (62%), and other charities (36%).
Safe Families for Children volunteer Tony Coe said: “As a Christian I always struggle with being able to do practical things with my faith. I thought, ‘Here is something that I can really do to live out my faith in a very practical way – supporting families.’”
Safe Families for Children’s Host Family volunteers, Tony and Lisa Coe were matched with a grandmother who had care of her seven-year-old granddaughter with additional needs. Lack of a support network meant there was danger of further breakdown in the family and Grandma was facing the possibility of her granddaughter going into care.
The volunteers took the granddaughter out for the afternoon and trips out to give the grandmother a respite break.
“Over the months, it was just been a real blessing to see some changes, some really positive changes,” said Lisa. “I think for them just to know that there were people who cared and that there was a little bit of time where they hadn’t got the responsibility pressing in and just had a bit of time for themselves…I really feel it made a big difference.”
Volunteers are recruited and trained by the charity in one of three roles: 1) Host Homes look after a child for a couple of days to a couple of weeks, 2: Family Friends befriend and mentor parents through difficult times and 3) Resource Friends supply a wide range of goods and services the family needs.
Goals are set with the families, whether that’s to make friends in the community, or to DIY their house to make it a safe place for the children. Volunteers work with the families to achieve these goals, whether that is for a day or over a period of up to 6 months.
“You don’t have to have hours and hours of time,” said Lisa. “And you don’t have to sign up for so many years. It’s just working with the spare time you’ve got, with the ordinary things that you do with your family.”
Church leaders love the way Safe Families has encouraged and empowered their congregations to reach out to the community. According to the Church Urban Fund and the Church of England survey, only a minority of clergy believe that “most, or almost all of the time, local people have opportunities to develop and use their skills.”
Rt Revd Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham, said: “I heard about Safe Families for the first time when we moved up to the North East. I was really excited by the whole vision of professionalism and yet encouraging volunteers to be engaged trying to support families in need so they didn’t get further into need. We did the training and one young child stayed with us for a night every fortnight for a several of months. That meant playing in the park, playing on the swing. Doing simple things like that. It was a joy for us to have a very small child in the home again and over the few months she was coming to see her grow and develop. Also to see her mum growing in confidence and to know that we were helping her to build her life afresh too.
“Safe Families mirrors Jesus’ call for us to welcome children. It also exemplifies the whole care of what in the Old Testament would have been called ‘widows and orphans’. They were those who would not have been supported unless the society took some responsibility.
“Often people get into volunteering with Safe Families because they want to help somebody else but often the experiences, the relationships they build, the training they receive actually helps them to grow as a disciple of Jesus. Safe Families is a brilliant project for individuals to get involved with but also for churches as church communities. It’s a real opportunity for us as Church to work with the rest of society for the wellbeing of children and families.”
Keith Danby, Chief Executive of Safe Families for Children, said: “It’s really encouraging to see Christian volunteers from 500 churches across the UK living out their faith and loving their neighbour – literally! Isolation and family breakdown are big issues today, and that’s something we can all help with. Safe Families merely enables Christians to do what they already want to do, to reach out and love and serve those who are vulnerable, isolated, or struggling.”
The charity is seeking to link more churches with struggling families across the UK. Information about volunteering can be found at www.safefamiliesforchildren.com.
