- Apr 8, 2021
- 3 min read

The Community Effect 101 -Safe Families with Melody Marshall

Co-Director of the Central Ohio Chapter of Safe Families, Melody Marshall, shares with us the impact a whole and safe community can have on a child.

There are so many kids in the water, why don't we swim upstream and find out why so many kids are ending up in the water. The idea of prevention really gripped our heart -Melody Marshall

Melody shared with us that there's 438,000 kids in foster care in the U.S. 70% are preventable due to neglect and lack of support. The Columbus Chapter of Safe Families has a 97% success rate with re-unification. This got our attention and inspired us to learn what can be done to get involved.

The Community Effect 101 With Melody Marshall- Listen Now

Show notes

[00:25] Safety in good deep community

[04:20] I introduce Melody Marshall

[05:30] Background of Melody's experience with children

[06:45] Experiencing a family that is safe and whole

[08:28] Stories of struggling children

[14:20] Led to Safe Families while getting ready to be foster parents

[15:56] A powerful story of a girl growing up in 33 different homes

[23:00] The importance of community and support to get out of crisis

[25:00] Case workers and other systems bring in Safe Families

[28:00] Avoid forcibly removing a child from the parent

[30:30] Common scenario in minimizing trauma

[32:46] What a ministry lead does

[34:31] If one family in every church in Columbus was a host family

[40:03] What is compassion fatigue?

[42:00] Compassion changes everything about the way we interact with each other

[44:28] Choosing to look at the ugly underbellies of society

[52:03] Taking steps towards positive change in the life of another

[55:03] Stories of how helping as a host family brings rich blessing

[60:05] No shame in asking for help

People and Companies We Mentioned in the Show

Melody Marshall was our guest today. You can follow Melody on Instagram

Melody Marshall, Co-Director - Safe Families Columbus Chapter

Melody is a proud mother of 4 sweet kiddos, the children’s director at Awaken Church, and blessed to be called to walk alongside families from hard places! Melody has worked with kids and families for the past 20 years in many different ways, from owning and operating her own daycare, to being a family coach for Boystown in California. Melody and her husband, Jeff, were the first host family in Central Ohio and have hosted kids in their home for over 500 nights. She is excited to be a part of what God is doing through Safe Families! “God sets the lonely in families, He leads out the prisoners with singing.” Psalm 68:6a

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Episode Length: 61 mins

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As children develop, their brains "mirror" their parent's brain. In other words, the parent's own growth and development, or lack of those, impact the child's brain.

— Daniel J. Siegel, The Whole Brain Child

Thanks so much for listening!

– Lance