DECEMBER 2022
@HOME N E W S L E T T E R
ISSUE 134
Safety Net Inland NW HELPING TEENS FROM FOSTER CARE TO ADULTHOOD ne of the greatest things about living in this city (or in this country, for that matter) is the ability of any two people to sit down over a cup of coffee and get up a few minutes later having made plans that will transform the lives of people they have never met. Take the case of Coleen Quisenberry and Molly Allen, who sat down a little more than ten years ago to discuss the plight of youngsters who have "aged
O
stove because she had no cookware, or no silverware, or no dishes.... you get the idea. Whatever unfulfilled need stood in the way of a former foster child's desire to stay in school, keep a job, or acquire the skills necessary to staying well and getting ahead would be met quietly, quickly and without lecturing or recrimination. Molly Allen explains Safety Net's straightforward MO: "If someone submits a request
the services they provide have diversified to meet the needs of our post-pandemic world, staff has been added and facilities secured. They now have a warehouse, for example, that is stocked with necessities of life, both great and small. Clients are invited to walk its aisles and gather up the things they need. Though most time and labor are donated, it was decided, in order to permit further growth and to keep things functioning reliably, to
out" of the foster system. In other words, they have reached the age of eighteen, at which, in most
we do not have a ton of paperwork. We don't have a huge bureaucracy to go through.” Program
engage a full-time Program Director. Fortunately, Jenny Hurd, whose professional and spiritual
cases, the financial support provided by the state for their care comes to an end.
Director Jenny Hurd agrees: “We kind of discuss what we can do above and beyond to bless this
attributes are suited ideally to the unique demands of Safety Net, was available to join the organization
Quisenberry and Allen, both moms themselves (Allen's son Jake was adopted out of the
child or this youth and then I make it happen. It's usually between 24 to 48 hours that we can get
last year, and has already succeeded in supercharging it.
foster system), had been shocked to learn that 65% of such kids ended up living on the street after six
those items - get things ordered and pay those bills, get the rent check paid.... whatever those kids
This holiday season, think of giving yourself the gift of smoothing a bit of the road that lies ahead
months of leaving foster care. Something, they both agreed, had to be done, and so they did it. Without
need." Sometimes, what they need is stuff, sometimes it is money, but sometimes, it is simply
of a young person for whom life has been at best intermittently kind. Visit Safety Net’s website, or give
contacting their Senator or forming an LLC, they started Safety Net Inland NW, which exists for the
time spent with someone who cares, someone who has already achieved some success in life and is
Jenny Hurd a call at (509) 863-9341 to see how you can help.
sole purpose of extending a helping hand and a caring heart to young people whose lives have been regrettably short on both. Before long, their generosity and determination attracted a core of volunteers and contributors who were eager to help. If they learned that a young woman had an apartment, but slept on a folded blanket in the corner, they would show up with a bed. If they found that she never used her
willing to pass on what they have learned. One of Safety Net's grateful clients puts it pretty well: "Just saying the words "thank you" is not enough, and there's no words really to explain how nice it is to know that there's people out there that are willing to help you when the even your closest family members wouldn't you know how." As Safety Net's reach has grown (they recently established a branch in Coeur D'Alene), and
Safety Net Inland NW safetynetinlandnw.org