Service Groups and Faith Alliance
Attendees:
Nicole Bernard, Niki Miller, Robert Cunningham, Jim Ahler, Ginger Espino, Patrick Jones, Cheryl Stallings, Luaskya Nonon, Nancy Hagan, Shinica Thomas, Kyle Meier, Officer Kenneth Ragland. Kim Adcock, Karen Morant
Everyone introduced themselves as there are several first-time attendees.
Introduction
Overview of what is the purpose of Service Groups and Faith Alliance of Apex. Established to help make connections among groups and restoration services. Create needed network of people to share resources and bring best practices and prevention into play. Nicole shared power point reviewing past topics and connection examples. Use the Socioeconomic Model for topic choices. Speakers invited each month to share their experiences around their various areas of expertise. Dive deeper links are attached each month for further learning and ways to get involved. Introduction of Community Cafes last year via zoom to gather data from those on front line of service around vulnerabilities in the community which acted very much like a focus group.
How do we benefit and serve these families? How do we identify and respond?
2022 Goals
Foster Care
Vulnerable Families
How do we respond to and prioritize needs?
Question to the group – What do you see on the next steps?
Kim (foster care): 1) Children coming into care need new foster care placement for teenagers as they are vulnerable to trafficking ad are sleeping in building 2) ID family or relatives that can take child, but they need some sort of help to get licensed (i.e., repairs) Cheryl – Resource for kids aging out of foster care – Pullen Church
3 issues:
- Kids into foster care with increased risk 60% sex abuse interfaces with foster care
- Prevention
- Kids in general esp. foster kids are falling into internet abuse due to COVID creating more stressors.
Probably haven’t seen full impact of pandemic around foster care needs. Again, need more beds. Today the number 440 in care, less than 150 homes, some being kinship or at capacity. Has this number changed during pandemic – fluctuates but has increased in last 6 months.
Jim – seeing economic issues as landlords are increasing rents as eviction moratorium(federal program) is phased out. Food vulnerability is still there but WWCM is not involved in foster issues. Cheryl says Town Council is very aware of housing needs…new Broadstone Walk (164 units) affordable housing will be coming.
Shinica About 1600 people countywide need housing assistance while preservation of current affordable housing is a key focus.
Karen Morant – Western Regional Community Advisory Committee – working regionally to address affordable housing. Mapped out about 600 units of AH that could be built in the region. Foster care- housing for our children in our own community pre pandemic – partnering with houses of faith in particular; rehabbing homes – municipalities have programs to refurb current housing that may enter into the foster care space. Also working with state on food insecurity to ID neighborhood food site distribution as well as masks, hand sanitizer, gloves & testing; worked with schools
Cheryl –Apex Cares for families that need home repairs – reach out to her for potential help
Kim – Nicole asked Kim to help us parse out how housing insecurity can lead to food insecurity and how this may put kids into a foster care situation. Kids age out and then need to come back 18-21 years old and this can be challenging to find a place for them for support and this can lead them to becoming victims to meet their needs.
1)opioids is top reason for entering foster care
2)Ginger ….85-90% neglect
- Increase capacity for adults that are caring for children reduces the potential need for removing the child. No stigma in asking for help needs to be reinforced.
Nicole asked Kim – if they are helped with meeting basic needs does this reduce the need for fostering? Absolutely. Resources they go to (daycare) may not be safe.
- Does this group want to focus on these things?
- Increasing access basic needs – crisis
- Increasing access available home as they enter foster care – response
Kim offered to be available to speak and get the word out there to educate and garner resources
Nikki – Would churches consider sponsoring a child that needs care during the day? Kim, would you be able to ID parents that would need that? Kim could provide contact info for prevention side – the needs would be easily identifiable
Nicole – community engages one church one family – crisis response, ie each church has a family with a network of support around that family. Would anyone be interested in this? Jim was unsure about UMC. Is there interest in addressing the crisis phase?
Ginger – Growing Resilience Movement – making sure dots are connected throughout county…need a central location via website to access resources that can help Working on pilot to bring resources TO the church – how do we do that so its not overwhelming to the church and share best practices with other churches.
NEXT STEPS
For next month’s meeting: decreasing of children being neglected; responding to crisis situations as they go into foster care
Nicole asked Kim if there is one thing as a community we could do to aid foster care…. New foster homes; integrating birth family into foster family which helps with the prevention issue
Jim asked Kim if she has promotional material to recruit foster families. Kim will send this to Jim via email.
Question to Kim… Are there physical needs not being met for foster children – They need suitcases, toiletry basic items and a variety of products needed.
Nicole will meet with Kim and Ginger to parse out a plan. Will present a plan outline at the next meeting to discuss.