Community Supporting Families
Contributed by Dawn Paulson
“My water broke.” The text came through that I had been waiting for. My new friend was in labor. I dropped everything and ran to pick up her 2- and 3-year-old little girls so she could do some of the hardest work of motherhood, delivering new life. Due to a history of very fast, 30-minute labors, she was a bit frantic when I arrived. I quickly gathered up the girls and loaded them into my car. When I asked about a bag for them, mom grabbed one she had started and threw a few additional items inside, and we were off to the hospital.
My journey to supporting new friends like this one started in 2015 when my husband and I became a Safe Families for Children Host Family. It was because we became a host family all those years ago that I had the privilege of meeting this new friend a few weeks before her due date. As a mom of four, I’ve had lots of kiddos in my home over the years, but with my youngest being 10, we didn’t have many toddler items other than a few tubs of Duplo’s and cars in the crawlspace. Did the community ever show up to support me, my new friend, and her kiddos!
Beacon Hill’s Foster Well shed supported us with car seats, bags of clothing, and diapers. In mom’s frantic state, she only threw in pull ups for the oldest and we needed smaller for the little sister. The Mat-Su community helps stock the Foster Well shed for families like me and others who are taking in and caring for kids, whether through Safe Families for Children, Foster Care, or relative placement.
In addition to the shed, our church and friends helped with babysitting so I could work, a baby gate so the girls wouldn’t fall on the stairs or throw things over the banister, and sippy cups. Friends helped support this mom by fixing her door and installing a childproof latch at the top to help keep her toddlers from escaping when she returned home with the new baby. All and all, at least 5 people surrounded us and this mom. It takes community to parent whether its your own kids or others.
Imagine moving to a new community and completing all the steps to become a licensed foster home and within hours of licensure, receiving a call to take twin infants. That was one foster parent’s experience last week. She reached out to Foster Well to help with the necessary initial supplies so she could confidently say “yes” to such a big ask. The shed supplied her with some starter clothes, bottles, car seats and even a freezer meal so there was one less thing on her soon to be sleep deprived brain.
The Beacon Hill Foster Well shed in Palmer supports lots of families and is stocked and maintained by the community. Will you be apart? You can donate:
- new fuzzy PJ’s and blankets to comfort a child entering a new home
- new backpacks so a child can put their very own special things inside
- new socks and underwear in all sizes infant to adult/teen sizes
- a starter set of clothing – 4-6 complete outfits of the same size new or very gently used bagged together
- new toiletries, hairbrushes, toothbrushes/paste
- new bottles, sippy cups, and water bottles
- new or gently used essential baby gear
- new or gently used winter gear
Or help by volunteering to help organize the shed.
Beacon Hill in Mat-Su can be reached by appt. at 907-308-9591 or at matsufamilysupport@beaconhillak.com. Beacon Hill’s Foster Well also supports families in Anchorage at their location at 2807 Arctic Blvd. / 907-222-0925
A community that supports kids and families is a healthy community.