Hope in the parking lot: Hosting kids put this Kansas family back together | Opinion

It was 7 p.m. when the call came through. A mom referred by the Kansas Department for Children and Families was in urgent need, facing a mental health crisis, weighed down by housing instability and job loss, doing everything she could to care for her two children with no place to go and no family to call.

By 10 p.m., we were meeting her in a parking lot more than an hour away. She arrived with her kids close beside her — tired, uncertain, with nothing but the clothes on their backs. There were quick introductions, tears that said more than words could — and then hugs.

Because even there, in that dimly lit parking lot, in the middle of so much heaviness, there was hope.

Around 70% of children who enter the child welfare system do so because of crises like these — not because of physical or sexual abuse, but “silent abuse,” what the law defines as neglect.

In April, as people around the nation recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month, I would like to acknowledge the impact of an organization working year-round to prevent abuse of all kinds, the loud and the silent.

Safe Families for Children surrounds families in crisis with a circle of support before that crisis becomes a tragedy and then a trauma.

We are but one family within this volunteer-led movement, serving alongside thousands more in that circle, temporarily hosting children while their parents regain stability.

While we hosted, a family coach collaborated with Mom to develop a stabilization plan. Together, they obtained a bus pass, filled out employment applications, and toured affordable housing options.

Family friends stepped in to babysit when I had meetings outside my home office. They provided practical support and encouragement as Mom worked toward her goals.

Resource friends donated clothes, diapers and toys, and even sent monetary gifts to meet emergent needs and cover additional grocery expenses.

There was no judgment, no welfare involvement — just ordinary people stepping in during extraordinary hardship, committed to keeping children safe and families together.

This is prevention.

It’s why Safe Families for Children is nationally recognized by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse as an approved, evidence-based support program to prevent foster placements.

It’s why, in 2025, Safe Families was one of seven organizations in the U.S. to receive the Compassion Award from Christianity Today.

And because Safe Families is run by trained volunteers who support families in crisis without court involvement, the average annual cost to support a child is approximately $5,000 to $7,000 — a stark contrast to the cost of foster care placement, estimated between $28,000 and $36,000 per child per year.

This isn’t intervention — it’s prevention. It’s not surveillance — it’s solidarity. And it’s reuniting 96% of children hosted through Safe Families with their loving parents, stabilized and secure.

At the conclusion of our hosting, the children returned to Mom, who had secured employment, transportation and a temporary place to stay while awaiting approval of her apartment applications. She was not the same woman we met only a week before. She was confident, composed and optimistic about what lay ahead.

These are just two of the 26 children hosted by four Safe Families chapters across Kansas in the last quarter. That’s more than 500 bed nights of safety, 15 families preserved — and countless reasons to join our circle.

Brittany Willer is chapter director for the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Safe Families for Children in north central Kansas. If you’re interested in joining the Safe Families movement, visit kansas.safe-families.org If you are a parent in crisis needing Safe Families support, call the centralized intake line at any time at 913-933-3357.