On September 30th we met together on zoom for our first Vision Night as the newly merged Safe Families and Home for Good. It was an opportunity to celebrate the merger and share more about the heart behind the decision to bring these two charities together to see more children and families thrive.

We heard from Kat and Tarn, our co-CEOs, who shared who both Safe Families and Home for Good were individually and the reasons behind why we have merged.

“Together, each finding that part that we can play, we offer a holistic solution to the church, to meet the lifecycle needs of children through their journey at the points where they might need additional nurture and support.” Kat

“We will fight both upstream, preventing needs escalating, and downstream, ensuring there are enough safe and stable homes." Tarn

Tarn then shared a touching story about how her church family has supported and encouraged her and her two adopted sons, emphasising the crucial role that the church has to play.

Our first guest Rosie then shared about how the support of Safe Families had a huge impact on her life. She shared that 18 months ago she was really struggling with poor mental health, saying “I just simply couldn’t get out of the house.” Therefore, she referred herself to Safe Families and was introduced to a volunteer named Donna. The two women spent time together, and Rosie began to open up about her struggles. Donna helped Rosie to get out of the house and go walking, her mental health improved, and she now has a job.

Rosie described Donna as “just so encouraging and so positive, she wouldn’t let me have any room for self-doubt… a very much needed mother figure to give guidance, just a shoulder to cry on.”

Then Annabel shared her story. She had been considering foster caring for a while and was inspired by reading the Home for Good book and seeing her friends foster. Then, she heard about Safe Families through a presentation at her church. She saw volunteering as a great way to discover whether fostering might be right for her family, and how her sons would react to having other children stay with them. This worked well and she and her husband gained the confidence to become foster carers, where they were involved in a Home for Good support group.

“My experience with both Safe Families and Home for Good has been brilliant, I couldn’t fault either. We found both organisations to be really friendly and also really professional.”

“Just get in touch, just have a chat and see where on the spectrum you might fall. Theres a place for everyone.”

Kat then shared the next steps for becoming a volunteer or exploring fostering, adoption and supported lodgings, urging everyone that they have a part they can play.

Luke Bacon, one of our trustees, then led us in a time of devotion and prayer.

Martin Dickson then highlighted an upcoming event, Belonging Conference, that we are hosting in partnership with Care for the Family. This event will be held on Saturday 23 November in-person near Newport and online. Click here to find out more and book tickets.

We then heard the exciting announcement that Safe Families and Home for Good has become a partner in the release of a major US movie being launch in the UK Sound of Hope- The Story of Possum Trot. This is a film based on a true story about families in a church in Texas who collectively adopted 77 children that nobody else would take. We are excited that this film will shed light on the care system and raise awareness about the need for more foster carers, adopters and supported lodgings hosts. The film will be released on 11th October in the UK. https://soundofhopemovie.co.uk

Thank you to everyone who joined us, if you missed the event then the recording is available above.