When children enter foster care, it immediately causes shockwaves of trauma and loss that impact nearly every area of their life. They are not just losing their parents and their homes; often, they are also losing their schools, their siblings, their pets, and their friends.
Coyote Hill is stepping in to provide resources in biological homes to prevent children from entering foster care by partnering with several community organizations, churches, and local case workers.
Recently, this helped six children remain with their parents!
A case worker in Boone County was notified of a family with six children living in a 2-bedroom home. Due to a variety of factors, the children in this home did not have beds. Some of them slept on blow up mattresses or on the floor.
Children’s Division evaluates homes and children’s safety based on a variety of factors, but one requirement is that children need a place to sleep that is appropriately safe. This means that children need to have beds with mattresses off the floor and bedding.
This case worker made a request through CarePortal, a nonprofit organization that connects local churches and businesses to needs in the community.
Coyote Hill has been partnering with CarePortal since 2022. Phil Douce, our CarePortal Coordinator, says requests for beds and bedding is the most frequent request that comes in from case workers.
When Phil saw this request come in, he contacted Midway Locust Grove United Methodist Church. Someone in their congregation talked to the mother of these six children to decide how to best meet this need. After some discussion about the family’s home and space needs, they decided to purchase two triple bunk beds. This was a significant financial contribution, so Phil reached out to other churches to help meet this need.
Midway Locust Grove, Centerpoint Church, and The Crossing have now all joined together to purchase these bunk beds, mattresses, and bedding.
“It was a win all the way around to see this collaboration,” Phil said. “It’s really the church being the hands and feet of Jesus for families in our communities.”
Volunteers from these churches went to assemble these beds. From the time that the request was made to the beds being ready in the home, the entire process took just over two weeks.
As of September 2023, there are 12,697 children in foster care in Missouri, according to Children’s Division. This can feel like an overwhelming number when thinking about the need in our communities.
However, two triple bunk beds made an infinite difference in the lives of six children by allowing them to stay in their home with their family.
When our community comes together like this, we can continue to change the landscape of foster care in mid-Missouri.
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