A New Home in Decatur: Safety in Transition
“On the roughest day of their life, they can land somewhere safe, comforting, and loving.”
This is the vision Chief Operations Officer for North Alabama, Dr. Michael Smith, has for the Ensor Shelter Care home being built in Decatur: that children who need a secure place to stay in a transitional time would be given a safe place to call home.
WHAT IS SHELTER CARE?
Shelter Care homes are temporary places for children for whom there is no immediate and clear path for a safe and loving family. We see these homes as vital for many children who are experiencing a crisis, so that those who are overseeing their safety—their families, social workers, the courts, and other leaders—can thoughtfully weigh all options without them bouncing from one home to another in the process. Having a home dedicated to sheltering these children minimizes the amount of transitions they face. In the end, discovering the least disruptive, most nurturing placement possible for each child is the hope.
THE PURPOSE & PLAN
Over the last couple years, our ABCH Service Team* has met together to talk about what areas of the state the ministry can impact the most. After doing a lot of work to grow our Family Care and Foster Care programs, we really saw a need to expand our Shelter Care program, not just for placements we receive from the state, but also for private placements.
“Currently there are only four shelters in the entire state of Alabama, two of which are ours. So you’ve got four shelters trying to serve 6,000+** children who are in and out of foster care. And the demand for short-term referrals are hundreds and hundreds . . . recently, just in Decatur, we took 35 referrals for Shelter Care in one day,” Michael says.
After looking at all of these facts, Michael pitched the idea to build another Shelter Care home in Decatur. When asked how he believes the new home will impact the community, he said, “The impact I see is more stability for children. If they’ve been removed from their home, we are minimizing the movement from placement to placement. In this immediate area, we’ll be serving children in our backyard. In the long run, although Shelter Care seems temporary, it’s really a step towards permanency.”
A LIFE-CHANGING PROJECT
House Parents Daniel and Melanie Lee will be serving this new home and are both ecstatic for the vision and possibilities. House Parents for five years, they are most excited for the new layout of the house to make their job a little easier. At the time we interviewed them, they were caring for ten children—three of their own and seven in Shelter Care. It’s not hard to imagine how hectic things can get with a full house, and the Lee’s are excited for increased visibility with the new floor plan.
In their current home, they take in both girls and boys, so they are looking forward to improving the experience for each child by making their current home a boys-only shelter, and the Ensor Shelter a home for girls only.
“We’re looking forward to providing more care and another safe place for children,” Melanie says. Daniel adds, “It can’t get here fast enough. It’s going to be a life changer, helping us to do our job. It will fill so many gaps being able to see everything—all around the house and at the playgrounds on campus. All around, it’s going to be awesome!”
AN EXCITING ADDITION
In addition to the Shelter Care home, we are excited to also build a duplex for house parents to stay during their off-time, for college students formerly in care to come home for weekends and school breaks, and for ministry groups who would need a place to stay for weekend-long serve projects.
This multi-use duplex will have a three-bedroom apartment on one side and a two-bedroom apartment on the other side.
Most of our House Parents do not own their own home since their off-time is only 6–8 days out of the month. For the Lees, this will give them a place to go on their off-time without having to stay with family or find someplace else to stay.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Would you like to get involved with this project? There a few ways to do so!
Pray. We would love for you to join us in prayer over each person who is involved with the project and especially for the children who will be served through this home.
Share. Do you know someone who would get excited about this project? Share it with them so they can get involved!
Give. If you are able and willing, we would love for you to join us in giving toward the project. Our goal is $1.8 million, and we need your help to reach that goal!
You can learn more about this exciting project at alabamachild.org/ensor.
*Our Service Team includes various ABCH leaders throughout the state, including President/CEO Rod Marshall, ABCH Foundation President Dr. Chip Colee, President of Pathways Professional Counseling Ross Hickman, Chief Operations Officer for North Alabama Dr. Michael Smith, and Chief Operations Officer for South Alabama Dana Watson.