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ISSUE NO. 22 • June 4, 2026 • RutherfordWeekly.com • 828-248-1408
Mosaic Hope Offers Hope To Foster Children And Those Who Help Them
This crowd is made up of volunteers, foster families and others who serve foster children. Mosaic Hope was among the organizers of this event for last Christmas. Article By: Pat Jobe and Emily Wood. Mosaic Hope, as the name implies, offers big time hope. Emily Wood, executive director of Mosaic Hope, offered lots of information in this article about the nonprofit which is among the best fundraisers in recent county memory. Her heart for kids in foster care comes through. A simple fact is important to remember. No child comes into foster care without a judge first hearing the circumstances of that child’s current home life. Not all circumstances involve serious abuse and neglect, but many do. Considering how hard it is to get a child into foster care, many of her supporters share Wood’s passion for this work, compassion and empathy for these children. These are often desperate situations. As Mosaic Hope approaches its fourth anniversary this August, the organization is continuing to expand its role as a bridge organization for children and families impacted by foster care in Rutherford County. What started as a grassroots effort
Emily Wood, right, is shown with Tiffany Dodd, with Rutherford County Department of Social Services after they had put out pinwheels to celebrate Abuse Prevention Month.
to meet urgent needs has grown into a collaborative network connecting social workers, caregivers, schools, churches, and community members around some of the county’s most vulnerable children. One recent example came in April 2026, when a Rutherford County Department of Social Services (DSS) social worker contacted Mosaic Hope after hours with an urgent situation. A teenage girl had been taken into custody with nothing but the clothes on her back and was expected at school the next morning. Within hours, Mosaic Hope mobilized through its CARE Closet to provide clothing, hygiene items, and other essentials so the teen could walk into school with dignity. The need for that support continues to grow. As of March 2026, approximately 200 children were in foster care in Rutherford County, with more than half placed outside the county because of a shortage of local foster homes. Ongoing staffing shortages within DSS has also placed additional strain on the child welfare system. In response, Mosaic Hope has focused on building practical, trauma-informed systems of support through three core programs: the CARE Closet, The Landing Platform, and Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI) training. Operating from donated space on the campus of Second Baptist Church in Rutherfordton, the CARE Closet provides essential items for children entering foster care, kinship placements, reunifying families, and families working to prevent removal from the home. Requests often include clothing, diapers, hygiene items, school supplies, beds, car seats, cribs, and other necessities. So far in 2026, Mosaic Hope has fulfilled 34 requests serving 73 children. In 2025, the organization fulfilled 90 direct requests and distributed more than $11,000 in essential supplies to 150 children across Rutherford
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County. The organization’s digital Landing Platform further expands that support by allowing caregivers and professionals to communicate urgent needs in real time while mobilizing churches, community members, and local partners to respond quickly. Mosaic Hope has also become increasingly involved in trauma-informed education and caregiver support through TBRI training. TBRI is an evidence-based model designed to help adults better understand and respond to children who have experienced trauma and adversity. One of the most important aspects of dealing with children in foster care is the realization that these children often blame themselves for their trauma. They will sometimes ask themselves, “What did I do to make this happen?” Affirming support includes just saying, “We’re going to get through this together.” The organization currently has nine trained TBRI Practitioners representing multiple sectors across the community and has trained more than 200 teachers in trauma-informed practices. As the organization has grown, so has its long-term vision for creating sustainable support systems for families. In 2023, Mosaic Hope purchased a fiveacre property with plans to renovate an existing 1940 home into the future Mosaic House, a community-based support center for caregivers and families. However, after renovations began, additional structural issues were uncovered that made restoration financially unsustainable. Rather than moving forward with costly repairs, the organization made the difficult decision to demolish the home and reevaluate campus plans. At the same time, Rutherford County DSS completed The Lighthouse, an emergency placement home located on the DSS campus.
That development allowed Mosaic Hope to rethink the purpose of the future Mosaic House — shifting away from emergency housing and toward a non-residential model centered on stabilization, caregiver support, connection, and family programming. Mosaic Hope adopted a phased campus approach. The first phase will be the CARE Cottage, a larger CARE Closet and program support building located approximately one mile from DSS, which is in Spindale on Fairground Road. The facility will allow the organization to expand storage capacity, consistently provide large essential items such as beds and cribs, host volunteers, create office space for staff, and offer caregiver education. While the organization remains largely volunteer-led, Mosaic Hope has continued building partnerships throughout Rutherford County and now collaborates with DSS, local schools, and more than 30 churches. Mosaic Hope plans to continue expanding its programs, partnerships, and campus vision in the years ahead while remaining focused on its mission: equipping and mobilizing the community to wrap around children, caregivers, and professionals impacted by foster care with immediate assistance, continued support, and accessible resources. The number 200 referring to children surviving in the foster care system may be alarming and confusing to some, but another number in this article, 30 churches, is evidence of people responding to the words of Jesus in Matthew 25, “In as much as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.” Mosaic Hope’s board: Rebecca Bradley, Brandon Wood, Jason Hunsinger, Amanda Hill, Angie Ownbey, Chris Johnson, and Rachel Hill. Emily Wood serves as a nonvoting member of the board and as the organization’s executive director.
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