Christ-Centered Relationships Bring Healing to Families
Hannah was at the end of her rope.
True, she’d just given birth to a beautiful baby boy, named Jackson. That was exciting.
But Hannah was suffering from serious health issues. She’s a single mom and new to Arizona, so she had no friends or family around. And even worse, little Jackson contracted HSV-1 while in the hospital. Hannah, unable to swallow because of her illness, could barely perform the basic tasks required to care for her son.
She felt desperate and utterly alone.
When a crisis like this strikes, many of us rely on relatives and our church family for support. But there are plenty of parents like Hannah who don’t have those safety nets. An emergency like illness, domestic abuse, or incarceration can make it difficult— or downright impossible—for these parents to care for their children.
That’s where Christian Family Care—and you! —come in. Thanks to your generosity, we come alongside struggling families and help them during their times of greatest need through several different programs.
One of those programs is Family Coaching.
Family Coaching helps work with parents to implement principles
to help their children thrive during challenging situations. Unlike counseling, where the client processes thoughts, feelings, and body sensations, family coaches complete an assessment and offer practical tips for parents. Our coaches work with parents to make a specific plan of action to meet their child’s needs.
Another resource we offer for families in need is Family Care KIDS, which offers Christ-centered childcare for little ones aged six weeks through kindergarten. Our teachers provide trauma-informed educational programs that focus on stimulating the brain, building language skills, and encouraging creativity, muscle development, problem-solving, and social and emotional development.
Thanks to generous friends like you, we can offer scholarships to cover the costs of Family Care KIDS for families who otherwise couldn’t afford it.
Of course, sometimes there are situations when children must leave their parents for a while. In that case, our STRONG Families for Children program provides these kids with stable, short-term homes where they can stay until they can reunite with their parents.
Our goal is to keep families intact, if possible. STRONG Families is designed to help families in crisis situations avoid foster care. The program gives parents the time and tools they need to build strong, healthy families so that their children can return home quickly.
The STRONG Families program pulled Hannah through her darkest moments.
When Hannah contacted STRONG Families, she wasn’t very familiar with Christian Family Care. She
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IN THIS ISSUE
1 Christ-Centered Relationships Bring Healing to Families
2 Meet our Director of Family Services
2 AZ Kids Foster 5K
3 “My Heart and Mind Are Forever Changed”:Trauma Support in Local Schools
3 Facing Trauma Head-On in 2024
3 Prayer Corner
4 Letter from the President
Meet our Director of Family Services
Chad Mabee
As Director of Family Services, Chad’s job has a huge impact on the families CFC serves. In his role, he oversees six different programs that are designed to support individuals and families. These programs are Family Coaching, Complex Care Interventions, Pregnancy, Private Infant Adoptions, Mentoring, and STRONG Families.
Over the last two years in his role, he has enjoyed seeing the differences of each program, and the unique challenges they present. When asked what his favorite part of the job is, he said, “I enjoy seeing individuals and families overcome challenges, which enables them to have success. My favorite part of the job is seeing how CFC ministers to those in the community, either through staff or the volunteers we have.”
Outside of CFC, Chad enjoys being outdoors—hiking, camping, and fishing. He recently had the opportunity to enjoy these activities in Hawaii!
To find out how you can do more to support Chad’s work visit:
Christ-Centered Relationships . . . (continued from page 1)
didn’t know any of our volunteer host families. And she’d almost given up hope. But her doula recommended the program, and something in Hannah told her this could be the second chance she needed. So, she courageously reached out for help.
That was a turning point for both Hannah and Jackson.
Over the past seven months, one of our generous host families has watched over baby Jackson many times while Hannah goes to the hospital for medical tests and doctor’s appointments. The family has also provided transportation back and forth from Laveen to Mesa, maintained Jackson’s medical schedule, and adapted their schedule to meet Hannah’s needs.
Thanks to their help, Hannah has been able to pursue the treatment she needs to return to health. Not only that, but she’s gone from feeling alone and abandoned to building a trusting relationship with Jackson’s host family. STRONG Families has also connected
Hannah with a mentor family, daycare assistance, and financial planning.
Karyn Purvis once said, “When hurtful relationships bring trauma, the only way to find healing is through positive relationships.” Whether it’s Family Coaching, Family Care KIDS or STRONG Families, CFC’s programs rely on the power of Christ-centered relationships to bring healing to children and parents.
Your generous support surrounds families like Hannah’s with God’s love. Thanks to you, they don’t have to face the struggles of life alone.
AZ Kids Foster 5K
Join us for an amazing day of fun, fitness, and community at the Foster 5K+Family Day on Sunday, November 24 at Kiwanis Park, Tempe! You can race, run, walk, or participate virtually in the 5K or 1-mile fun runs. Invite friends to join you on team “CFC Cruisers.” There will be family activities, such as face painting, balloons, and games, as well as prizes. Registration includes a shirt, racing bib, medal, water, snacks, and team fun. We hope to see you there!
Register for the race today at raceroster.com/events/2024/89799/ foster-5k-family-day or by scanning the QR code on the right.
“My Heart and Mind Are Forever Changed”: Trauma Support in Local Schools
If you work in a school, you’ve most likely run into kids struggling with the effects of early childhood trauma.
That’s especially true if they’re children in foster care. 90% of children and youth in foster care have experienced complex trauma (the repeated exposure to multiple types of traumas and toxic stress, often of an invasive, interpersonal nature).
Unsurprisingly, that trauma often carries over into the classroom. And all too often, well-meaning teachers simply have no idea how to help students who suffer from it.
That’s why CFC teamed up with Dr. Chuck Geddes of Complex Trauma Resources to offer the Calm Classroom Course—an online program that helps teachers to understand complex trauma and gives them the practical tools they need to help their students thrive.
The course is based on the principles of the Complex Care and Intervention Program (CCI), a research-backed approach to complex trauma that equips educators, parents, and caregivers to provide traumatized children with trauma-sensitive, loving, and developmentally appropriate care.
Teachers who take the Calm Classroom Course learn:
• The neuroscience behind how stress and trauma impact the brain and body
• How to manage student stress to maximize learning
• How to look at student behavior from a developmental lens
• How to create traumafocused Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s)
• How to create a plan for self-care to prevent burnout
The CCI approach makes a world of difference for kids with complex trauma. Participating in a Complex Care and Intervention program leads to a decreased use of psychotropic medications, improved success in school, better emotional regulation, and much more.
Local teachers have been using the tools from Calm Classroom with great success. Beth-Anne, a principal who took the course, says, “I have been able to watch two of my students build their selfesteem, develop a sense of safety, and therefore make huge strides in their educational journey.”
Janine Hein, a teacher in the Langley School District, describes how the course has transformed her: “This has been the most influential training I have taken in my 32 years in the education system. It changed my thinking about students who have had trauma in their lives. My heart and mind are forever changed.”
You make it possible to offer programs like the Calm Classroom Course. Thank you for bringing hope and peace to teachers and students in Arizona!
Facing Trauma Head-On in 2024
Did you know? 1 in 7 children in Arizona have experienced more than three traumatic events in their short lifetime. Whether it’s domestic violence, abuse, or the loss of a parent, terrible experiences during childhood leave deep wounds on a child’s heart and mind—wounds that can last for years.
The good news is, these kids can heal. And your generosity is making it happen! This year, thanks to you:
• 70 families have received coaching from CFC.
• More than 4,100 counseling hours have been provided to families in need.
• 99+ students attend Family Care KIDS preschool.
• 30 children have benefitted from the STRONG Families program.
• 20 caregivers and one school district have received Complex Care and Intervention training.
PRAYER CORNER
We’re creating a group of prayer warriors to join us in October to pray for National Adoption Month—and we want you to join! If you’d like to stay up to date on needed prayer for children and families in Arizona, please sign up using the QR code here:
Mark Upton President
Letter from the President
Dear Friends,
Why did the disciples of Jesus hinder children from coming to him?
Little children were then, and often still are today, considered insignificant. Yet Jesus says in Matthew 19:13-15, “do not hinder them (little children) from coming to Me.”
As a parent, and grandparent, I have seen how the environment surrounding a child’s birth and early childhood impacts a child’s well-being into adulthood. That is why Jesus rebuked his disciples when they hindered the little children from coming to him.
Over the past 42 years, Christian Family Care has served thousands of children who have experienced severe trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Just as the research from Harvard University Center on the Developing Child and others show, a child’s well-being is impacted by three primary factors: family, childcare, and housing
Christian Family Care is in the arena fighting for every child to be able to come to Jesus.
We concur with these findings and believe that the best return on investment to restore health to communities is to focus on those three areas. What contrasts CFC's approach from others wanting to prevent childhood adversity is we offer a holistic approach that includes one thing the disciples attempted to hinder these children from receiving: Jesus! As children begin the school year, several CFC ministries are united in providing a Christ-centered, holistic solution to prevent child abuse and neglect:
• CFC’s CCI (Complex Care and Intervention) program, developed by our own Clinical Psychologist Chuck Geddes, Ph.D. is being used by our early childhood education center Family Care KIDS, Phoenix Christian School, and new this year, in the public schools of the Alhambra school district. This tool helps all caregivers (parents and teachers) improve their skills in developing a healthy child.
• CFC’s Family Coaching and parent training help stabilize marriages and the family.
• Family Care KIDS provides, through scholarships, affordable trauma-informed early childhood education for children six weeks old to pre-kindergarten.
• STRONG Families for Children – provides stable caregivers for children and comes alongside parents when parents are in crisis situations – avoiding foster care.
Jesus said the kingdom of heaven belongs to children. Our secular community wants to make certain these children don’t find Jesus. Our culture is pushing even into preschools a doctrine of transgenderism and sexualization that normalizes an unbiblical view of marriage, personal identity, and the family.
As the school year starts anew, Christian Family Care is in the arena fighting for every child to be able to come to Jesus – and for every child to be loved and nurtured in a Christ-centered family.
Thank you for joining us in leading children into the loving arms of Jesus. For the Children,
