Klamath Falls is a beautiful community surrounded by mountains and clear lakes.
Also in Klamath Falls, there are many families who are only surrounded by those mountains — and not family — and who are living in poverty.
In fact:
- 23% of people living here are living in poverty
- 32% are unwed mothers
What Safe Families for Children Does
Safe Families for Children (SF) serves Klamath County through:
- Strengthening families
- Mentoring
- Hosting children
- Keeping families together
- Creating extended family-like supports for socially isolated families
This is done through a community of compassionate volunteers to keep children safe and out of the foster-care system.
That framing matters. Foster care is sometimes necessary — but it's also disruptive, traumatic for kids, and expensive for the system. Safe Families' model is to intervene earlier and more relationally — before a crisis escalates to the point that state intervention becomes necessary.
Carly's Story
18-year-old Carly was sleeping on a friend's couch with her 8-month-old son.
She was trying to finish high school and work a part-time job.
SF came alongside her — and a volunteer was willing to let Carly and her son move into her home for 6 weeks while apartment hunting.
What SF did for Carly:
- Helped move her into an apartment
- Provided furniture and other household items
- SF staff provided transportation from childcare so she didn't have to leave her job to pick him up
- Carly graduated with her high school diploma
- She is now taking classes at KCC to become a drug and alcohol counselor
- SF provides day hosting so she can work on her college classes
- SF has provided her a local family to support her since her own family lives in Florida
That trajectory — 18-year-old single mom on a friend's couch → high-school diploma → college student preparing for a counseling career — is exactly what early, relational, community-based family support produces.
The SF Model — Facts
How Host Families Work
- Screen and approve Host Families similar to foster care
- Closely monitor children in host homes
- 70% of children hosted are 5 years old and below
- Age range is 0–24 years old
- May host young parents with children
Referral Sources
SF receives referrals from across the basin's family-support ecosystem:
- Schools
- Homeless and domestic-violence centers
- Substance-abuse centers
- Hospitals
- DHS
- Pregnancy centers
- And more
Program Components
- Host children in safe approved homes
- Mentor and support at-risk youth and parents
Goals
- Prevent child abuse
- Deflect children from foster care
- Family support and stabilization
Al's Story
Al and his 13-year-old son moved to Klamath Falls so Al could receive dialysis.
He didn't know anyone — so his DHS family coach connected him with SF.
Four months after meeting the SF network, Al was airlifted to Roseburg hospital with sepsis.
Instead of his son going into foster care, he stayed with a SFFC host family for about 10 days. He returned home when Al was ready.
SF staff was able to transport his son to visit — which gave them both peace of mind.
That story is the SF model working exactly as designed. A medical emergency that could easily have triggered foster-care placement was instead handled through:
- A trusted community network already in relationship with the family
- A host family willing to take on a 10-day temporary placement
- Staff transportation maintaining the father-son relationship during the crisis
- A return home to the same family unit, now even more connected to community support
Recent Impact
In the last 18 months, SF of Klamath County has:
- Hosted 13 families
- Assisted 11 families with stable housing
- Provided transportation
- Delivered groceries
- Made home repairs
- Helped teens get back into school
- Helped parents into college or the work force
What Volunteers Have Provided
- Beds
- Couches
- Tables
- Rugs
- Cribs
- Diapers
- etc.
We have encouraged and provided hope to over 30 families — we become their family when they have none.
Why the Model Works
Foster care, while necessary in some cases, has documented downsides:
- Disruption of attachment and stability
- Trauma of placement and movement between placements
- Schooling discontinuity
- Long-term outcomes that are statistically worse than family-of-origin outcomes when family-of-origin can be safely supported
- Costly to the state and to taxpayers
Safe Families' model addresses many of those issues upstream:
- The biological family stays connected through the temporary hosting period
- The host family provides stability within a structured volunteer network
- The relationship between the SF community and the family continues long after the hosting ends
- The cost to the state is dramatically lower than foster care
- The outcomes — measured by family reunification, educational continuity, employment, and stable housing — are stronger
It's a community-based solution that prevents the more expensive, more disruptive state interventions.
How You Can Help
Become a Host Family
If you have a spare bedroom, basic financial stability, a willingness to undergo screening, and a heart for kids and families in crisis — SF needs you.
Become a Family Coach or Family Friend
These volunteer roles support host families and biological families without requiring you to host children directly.
Donate
SF runs on community generosity — financial support, household goods, gift cards, and the kind of in-kind donations that turn an empty apartment into a home for a family in transition.
Spread the Word
Many basin families don't know SF exists — including families who might benefit from the program and potential volunteers who might serve.
A Final Word
Safe Families for Children of Klamath County is a non-profit that operates under the umbrella of Hearts With a Mission.
For more information on getting involved, contact director Bethany Holmes at (541) 816-1666.
If you're a family in the basin facing a crisis — whether housing, medical, addiction, or relational — SF is one of the first calls to make.
If you're a Klamath community member with capacity to help — SF is one of the most leveraged places to invest your time, your space, and your generosity.
13 families hosted. 11 helped into stable housing. 30+ families supported as extended family.
Behind every one of those numbers is a child whose life will be different because the Klamath Basin showed up.
Thank you, volunteers. Thank you, donors. Thank you, host families.
And thank you, Bethany Holmes, for the work of running this organization.