Rock Church invites members to join Safe

Rock Church encouraged its congregation to learn about and be involved in helping vulnerable children through the Safe Families movement (Photo taken from the church’s website)

The Rock Church encourages the congregation to join them for a live, interactive orientation about Safe Families and Foster Care on June 7 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. via Zoom.

The church announced that they would talk about how members could change the lives of at-risk teenagers and vulnerable children during the said gathering. They noted that there would be no charge for those interested.

Safe Families for Children

According to the Ministry Section of the church’s website, in collaboration with Olive Crest, Safe Families for Children (SFFC) gives short-term hosting to kids whose parents are in crisis.

SFFC organized faith communities to be host family and supportive friends. Members could also be champions and influence a kid’s life at a time.

The same page revealed that SFFC is a campaign of compassion created to lessen child abuse. This movement refocused the church on the importance of caring for kids, as it had been throughout history. The website added that most States improved the child welfare system in the 1940s and ’50s, yet it is relatively new.

They added that the idea of the government protecting kids from their parents is nearly in the old generation. Before this, the church and other faith-driven organizations were at the front line of caring for these in-need children.

The website revealed that they have limitations in their resources, and the legal constraints of the authorities control society’s ability to meet these needs. They added that the church is developing as a hero for vulnerable families. However, the organization admitted that they need help from others.

Restoring Hope

The church encourages the congregation to participate in the said movement to assist families like Yadira’s, one of the beneficiaries. On the Olive Crest YouTube Video, she shared how SFFC helped her have a new life.

In the said video, they stated that Yadira Chortal is a single mom with five children. They live in Orange County, California. Her eldest ten-year-old son Angel thought a safe home would be a miracle.

“I was in a really dark space in my life, and the worst part is I was Okay with it,” Chortal said.

The video stated that Chortal was stuck in addiction and hopelessness. She could not provide the safe and loving shelter Angel and his five younger siblings needed. Meanwhile, Angel confessed that he had to rob stores so he and his siblings could eat.

At the beginning of 2020, Chortal hit her lowest point, and before she entered rehab, she got connected with Olive Crest, as posted on the video. They noted that the SFFC program found a temporary place for Angel so Yadira could continuously get the help she needed.

Alaine Schanes, one of the Safe Families host family, is also a single mom and a full-time nurse who wants to invest in the lives of God’s people. Angel lived with them and said he had the time of his life because of her son’s friends.

Today, the video noted that Chortal has a new job and a new apartment. She recently celebrated her sobriety for six months.