Get Involved.
Volunteers make up the heart of Safe Families. We don’t simply need your support each month, we need you! Even if you don’t have a lot of time to donate, we have a role for you.
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Host.
Host Families are the backbone of the Safe Families movement. They welcome children from struggling families into their homes for a short period of time. They provide a safe, caring place for them while their parents work to resolve their crisis and get back on their feet.
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Mentor.
Whether you are interested in mentoring a youth experiencing homelessness or walking with and coaching a parent through a crisis, these volunteers use life experience and compassion to come alongside individuals. This relationship is key to helping families find real change in their circumstances.
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Support.
Many Hands make light work, and when many individuals are engaged with serving a family, no one person has to do too much. Our Resource friends help with tangible needs, meals, transportation, and prayer. We couldn’t do this work without a great circle supporting our volunteers and our families.
Find the Best Role for You with Safe Families
Host Family
Host families welcome children into their home for a short period of time while their parents get back on their feet. Hostings can last for a couple of hours all the way up to a couple of months depending on the crisis and the goals the parents are working on. Host families are trained, background checked and certified volunteers.
Family Coach
Family coaches help facilitate the relationship between the host family and the family in crisis. They work closely with the parents as they navigate the difficult situation, helping set goals and create plans to keep their family together. Family coaches work closely with Safe Families staff to provide resources and community referrals as needed.
Parent Partner
Parent Partners build relationships with new, vulnerable parents to relieve social isolation. They commit to weekly check-ins by phone and in-person twice a month. They might assist with rides to doctors appointments or help around the house when the parent needs a break. The goal is simply to be a friend to talk to and lean on for support.
Youth Mentor
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Resource Friend - Circle of Support
Resource friends are a key component of how we support families in our community. So often there are tangible needs that make it possible for a family to host, or for children to return back to their families. We hope to offer a “circle of support” to every family we serve. These volunteers could offer meals for the host family, help with transporting kids to visits or school, assist with acquiring tangible resources, or join a prayer team to cover the hosting.
Application Process
There is a huge need in our community and we want to make this process go as quickly as possible so you can get started volunteering with Safe Families ASAP. At the same time, we do our best to make sure that all of our volunteers are safe community members just trying to make a positive impact. Just know it may take some time before you can jump in and serve children and families directly.
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Everyone interested in volunteering with Safe Families needs to fill out an application The application is the same, no matter which role you’d like to serve in.
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Every volunteer with Safe Families will undergo two background checks, one through the Oregon Department of Education and one through the State Police. Checks can take a few weeks to process and you will be notified to then go and get fingerprints done. The cost of the background check is covered by Safe Families.
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As an organization, Safe Families requires certain online orientations/trainings for the different roles you may sign up for. You will be instructed which trainings will be required for your role. All trainings can be found here:
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For Host Families and Family Coaches we have a few additional forms that we need signed. These can simply be filled out online and submitted to our chapter. Here is the link: