What is Safe Families Canada?

Safe Families Canada is a movement of compassion involving collaboration between area churches, volunteers and Christian organizations in order to support at-risk children and parents in need. Safe Families is an opportunity for volunteers to have a powerful impact in the lives of others through practicing biblical hospitality and extending the love of Christ to people in need — all from their own home! Parents experiencing a temporary crisis can arrange for their children (newborn through 18 years old) to stay with Safe Families volunteers while they address the issues that led to the instability in their lives.

Watch Clarissa’s testimony here:

Volunteers open their homes to children whose parents are experiencing a short-term emergency, such as hospitalization, or a longer-term crisis, such as drug abuse. Designed to extend and strengthen the community safety net for at-risk families, Safe Families is a positive prevention program allowing parents to work out their problems without having to worry about losing custody of their children.

The program‘s goal is to reunite children with their own parent(s) in a home that is more stable and healthy, in part because of the contribution of the Safe Families intervention. Placing 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 Host Family. Safe Families Case Coaches keep in close contact with the parents in planning for a healthy reunification of the family. Positive family reunification is our number one priority, and through Safe Families an overwhelming 85% of children have been returned to their biological parents and 90% have been deflected from government custody.