WE ARE READY

We Are Ready to Respond 

This month, a 3-year-old girl needed an emergency hosting on a Saturday. Her mother was experiencing complications from her sickle cell disease and needed immediate hospitalization. When we sent out the need, we learned that most of our Host Families were out of town for the holiday weekend. We were feeling anxious that the need may go unmet - with serious consequences for this mother and daughter. Then we received a phone call from a Christ Community Church Host Family: They were driving home from the beach and about 20 minutes from the mother's home. Would we like them to go to her home right now to pick up the little girl? The Host Family was able to meet the mother and daughter and begin hosting within an hour while the mother was waiting for an ambulance.  

We were deeply moved by the willingness and cheerful availability of this Host Family at the end of their vacation. We all know the weariness that comes after a long car ride and the unpacking, organizing, and settling in that happens after vacation. Adding another, unfamiliar child to the chaos is usually the last thing on our minds. It is compassionate, sacrificial love like this - when most inconvenient - that makes this ministry possible. It is also a beautiful testimony of how the Church can be a light on a hill in our city through biblical hospitality.  

We Are Ready to Learn: Sickle Cell Anemia 

One gap that Alongside Families fills is serving parents with sickle cell disease who have no one to care for their child when hospitalized during a pain crisis. Parents living with sickle cell disease face enormous challenges, including, at times, not receiving appropriate medical care.  

This article highlights the reality for sickle cell patients who go to the ER, including a hematologist who highlights how even a patient learning to advocate for themself can backfire, sharing, “The great irony is patients who are well informed and capable of self-advocating are being accused of being manipulative, because they are capable of articulating very clearly what’s effective for them down to the name of the medication or the absolute dose.”  

Another article highlights the suspicion of drug-seeking sickle cell patients may face from medical providers. “There is no disease bigger than sickle cell in terms of bias and disrespect...Many clinicians dislike taking care of people with sickle cell disease because of issues around pain management. When you add in race, it’s a perfect storm.” 

Please pray with us for parents in our community navigating this disease, and for the Church to be part of the solution for these families.

We Are Ready to Partner

Emily, our Founder and CEO, had the opportunity to present to the team at Atrium Health this month, sharing how churches can play a powerful role in supporting families in crisis and preventing unnecessary foster care involvement. We're so thankful for the chance to partner with local healthcare professionals who care deeply about family well-being and long-term stability.  

As needs continue to pour in from families and referring agencies, this is a powerful opportunity for your church to step in and be the hands and feet of Jesus - offering practical support, gospel-centered hope, and a path toward family restoration. 

We Are Ready for Your Church to Step Into the Story of Family Preservation 

God cares deeply about vulnerable families - and calls His people to respond. God stepped into our brokenness, not to discard us, but to restore us. When the Church enters into the lives of families in crisis, we’re modeling that same redemptive love. We’re not just meeting needs - we’re bearing witness to the hope and healing found in Christ.  

So many families are struggling right now — not because they don’t love their children, but because they lack the support and community they need to make it through a crisis. 

This is where your church can shine. 

You don’t need to be part of “the system” to care for vulnerable children and families. In fact, your church can be a refuge - a place of restoration, belonging, and hope. 

This is gospel-centered family preservation. It’s the Church saying: we see you, we’re with you, and we will walk alongside you. 

YOU are uniquely positioned to help bring this to your church. 

Whether that’s hosting a child, walking with a parent, answering the support line, donating monthly, or providing coaching and care - there is a place for your church to stand in the gap and help reduce family separation through relational support. 

You don’t need to launch a new ministry. You just need to take the first step. 

Share this with your church leadership and ask them to consider becoming a Partner or Supporting Church.

Let them know you believe your church can be part of this movement - one that reflects God’s heart by preserving families, welcoming the vulnerable, and creating a community where no one has to face crisis alone. When a church wraps around families in need, it changes not just those families but the church itself. Kids grow up watching faith in action. Adults find purpose in service. 

Let’s make the Church the first place families turn to when they are in need - not the last.