Board Letter
To Our Safe & Sound Community
"Safe & Sound gave us the support and tools we needed to heal and rebuild our lives. For the first time in years, we feel safe, hopeful, and ready to embrace the future."
Vivian*
Mother and Safe & Sound client
* Name has been changed for confidentiality reasons
As Board members and supporters of Safe & Sound, we are truly honored to be a part of the life-changing work this team provides every day. It’s hard to believe that 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of this amazing organization. Think about the families who have found partnership, support—and hope—by walking through the front doors of Safe & Sound over the past 50 years.
Imagine how many families, like Vivian and her two children, have turned to Safe & Sound in moments of crisis and isolation to find a new beginning. For Vivian, it took unbelievable courage to pack her belongings and her two kids into the car and leave. She was done with the violence in her house, and trying to convince her 8-year-old daughter Emma and 7-year-old son Ethan that everything was fine. Unsure where to turn, Vivian called the TALK Line, a 24/7 hotline for parents. A volunteer connected her with temporary shelter and emergency food. The trauma of domestic abuse and upheaval affected both children, and Vivian struggled with how to be the best parent she could be. The family enrolled in the Safe & Sound’s Integrated Family Services program where they were surrounded by a team dedicated to helping them heal individually and as a family. Two years later, Vivian, Emma, and Ethan have graduated from the program and are thriving.
Every family’s path to Safe & Sound is unique, and similarly, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to help families build the future they know is possible. That’s why Safe & Sound works at multiple levels to bring a comprehensive set of services, supports, and system changes that families need to thrive.
Everyone sees the work that the expert and compassionate team at Safe & Sound provides directly with families to help them understand and build on their own unique strengths—the things they are proud of and that are their “superpowers.” The team also works with community leaders and partner organizations to connect families more easily and rapidly to the resources they need—like the housing support Vivian and her children needed immediately.
Equally as important is the work Safe & Sound does across California to shape policies and practices that help keep families safely together and strong. Safe & Sound has been at the forefront of changing the policies and practices that traumatize children and families when they are unnecessarily reported to child welfare. In 2023, Safe & Sound helped to lead a statewide effort to reimagine the mandated reporting system. With your support, we are shifting the paradigm from reporting a family in order to get support, to supporting families in the communities where they live and thrive.
We have learned so much in 50 years, and with your trust and support we continue to learn, grow, and serve. As we set our sights on the future, we do so with inspiration from Vivian and many other families who share their strength with us every day. Together, we are creating the hope that families need—that they turn to Safe & Sound to find.
And finally, we know that the impact Safe & Sound has at the individual, family, community and statewide level could not be accomplished without the ongoing commitment of our donors, volunteers, and dedicated team members. Thank you.
We look forward to supporting the hope and well-being of families over the next 50 years!
Bill Barnes and Sarah H. Whitelaw
Co-Chairs, Board of Directors