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Surrounded by totes and tubs of clothes and numerous hygiene items for babies to teenagers, Emily Wood -- holding her own six-month-old Emma -- talked about one of the goals that is being reached by Mosaic Hope and an upcoming fundraising dinner that will help meets future needs of Rutherford County's foster children and families.
Mosaic Hope's official launch will be Thursday, May 11 at Second Baptist Church Family Life Center from 6 to 8pm. Tickets for the event are $35 and are on sale. There are sponsor tables for $200 and with six to eight people seating. Emily encourages people to consider the fundraising efforts.
From the House of Dreams at Second Baptist Church in Rutherfordton, Emily talked about the new nonprofit Mosaic Hope with a vision to bring more awareness, education, mobility and support for the foster care program in Rutherford County. She serves as the group's executive director.
Mosaic Hope also desires that every child and family be surrounded by a community of support and that the Lord will show the volunteers tangible ways to wrap around the children and families in Rutherford County, Emily said
The Totes to Hope was a project just completed to benefit Mosaic Hope as businesses, churches and individuals filled the totes with items desperately needed for those in foster care.
The Foster Care Closet at Second Baptist, located on Green Street, has clothes, toiletries, and other necessities ready for DSS, foster families, and kinship caregivers in the first 24-48 hours of placement of a child.
Emily said she and husband Brandon, employed by Second Baptist, and their children were in downtown Rutherfordton recently when she received a call regarding an emergency foster care placement.
The child going into emergency care did not have pajamas and other necessities as he was being transitioned into a foster home. Emily met them at the Foster Care Closet and where the needs were met immediately.
Mosaic Hope is also organizing its First Response Team that can respond to the immediate needs of children, parents and relatives any time of day or night.
Often in an emergency situation people do not know exactly what to do or how and perhaps there is no money to help with clothes and other needs, Emily explained the First Response Team will be notified to offer immediate assistance.
"We do not want them to face secondary trauma," Emily said. Often it is traumatic when a child has to be placed outside of the home and Mosaic Hope works to make sure there is no additional trauma for the foster children during placement.
Recently, in addition to the children placed in foster care in Rutherford County, at least 50 children were placed in kinship care (with relatives) and another 60 children were placed in adjoining counties because there are not enough foster parents.
Mosaic Care works with and supports the Rutherford County Department of Social Services (DSS) in foster care situations.
"We want to be a problem solving nonprofit to help them," she said.
She also explained parents or guardians in kinship care do not receive monetary assistance from DSS, therefore the House of Dreams is also vital to these relatives.
Children and teens are being taken away from what they know and working through tough circumstances and DSS works around the clock to find placement and the biological parents are working through their personal struggles.
The children and parents face multiple transitions.
From family visits, to meetings, appointments to court and more, Emily said the lists goes on.
"We want children and families in Rutherford County to know they are not alone. We want them to feel seen and loved," Emily said.
She serves as the nonprofit's Executive Director and works with a Board of Directors and other volunteers. Right now much of the support and financial contributions come from churches and other faith-based groups.
"More than anything, though, we want them to know there is hope, even in the midst of all the brokenness," she said.
"We are so excited to share Mosaic Hope's big vision for Rutherford County and how you can be a piece of the mission," said Wood.
Among goals from Mosaic Hope is equipping and mobilizing the community to wrap around children, families, and social workers in the foster care system.
Emily said she has already hosted the Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) training with a group from Element Church and hopes others will take the training.
"We are thankful for churches who want their volunteers and leadership prepared to love on foster families and the children in their care."
The TBRI was created to equip, train and coach those who are involved in the life of a child/teenager who has experienced trauma.
They also mobilize the community to provide and coordinate resources to support families impacted by the foster care system or those at risk of being impacted.
Emily said one of the biggest challenges facing the foster care system is the lack of support for children, caregivers, and social workers during the first 24-48 hours of a new placement.
If there is not a place for them, the children are often left to spend the night on a cot at the DSS office, while social workers are overwhelmed with numerous tasks.
Mosaic Hope is raising money through its first Launch Event and subsequent other events to hopefully buy a house that will be a place where the parents, children and support teams can have respite care and a place to stay in an emergency situation.
"We want to be a navigator for people involved in foster care and our main goal is for continued support for these families.
Mosaic Hope also partners with public and private partners to provide and coordinate resources to reduce duplication of services. They rally "the Church" to create a network of support for families and serve as a HUB of resources for families, caretakers, and social workers.
Call the church at 828-286-9662 to get tickets for the launch event or to learn more how to donate and volunteer with Mosaic Hope.
