A person who might foster, adopt, or give does not start by learning an org chart. They need one picture that shows where they fit. This video is about three and a half minutes. It opens on a book, Everyone Can Do Something, and on Jason Johnson's river: one friend pulls children out, one runs to the falls, one goes upstream to stop them falling in. Hope Bridge uses that picture for the whole video.
Downstream is support for foster, adoptive, and kinship families: groups, social events, a bag of hygiene items, diapers, pajamas, and a meal card when a child is first placed, counseling scholarships, and an annual conference they call Mobilize Ohio. Upstream is housing and practical help for vulnerable single mothers, so a family is less likely to fall in. Further down is support for youth aging out of foster care without a permanent family. The close says not everyone can do everything, and it asks the viewer to find a place along the river. It also says the work depends on churches.
Another ministry or family nonprofit hiring Beacon for a promo like this is buying one metaphor that can hold three programs. A separate video for each program would make a newcomer pick a door before they care.
Hope Bridge did not need three explainers. They needed the river. That is what this video is for.
Read transcript Video dialogue and narration
[00:00.000] In his book, Everyone Can Do Something, author and speaker Jason Johnson describes the child
[00:20.020] welfare system with this analogy.
[00:22.640] Imagine three friends come upon a raging river.
[00:25.760] They see children in the water rushing down the rapids towards a waterfall.
[00:30.400] One friend immediately jumps into the river and begins pulling as many children out as
[00:34.960] he can.
[00:36.280] Knowing there's a waterfall downstream, the second friend runs down the river to catch
[00:40.260] as many children as he can before they fall over the cliff.
[00:43.920] The third friend, however, wonders why these children are in the river in the first place.
[00:48.960] He runs upstream to find out how he can put a stop to it.
[00:52.720] All three friends are running in three different directions, each addressing different but
[00:57.420] equally important points of the problem.
[01:00.100] There are kids in the water and we need to get them out.
[01:03.820] As foster and adoptive parents, those of us here at Hope Ridge understand that after jumping
[01:08.500] into the rapidly moving waters, it can be exhausting and often discouraging.
[01:13.540] Navigating trauma, grief, and a broken system while caring for children can often make it
[01:18.580] feel as if we are drowning too.
[01:20.900] With that in mind, we have created a program to provide encouragement, support, as well
[01:25.480] as tangible resources for foster, adoptive, and kinship families.
[01:30.620] Offering support groups and family social events allow parents and children to be with
[01:34.840] others who are walking a similar journey in a safe space.
[01:38.980] When a child is first placed into a home, our team delivers a comfort and necessity
[01:42.820] bag full of hygiene and comfort items for each child, as well as things like diapers,
[01:47.740] pajamas, and a gift card for a meal to make those first few nights a little less stressful.
[01:53.580] We offer counseling scholarships to help families receive additional support, and we host an
[01:58.260] annual resource conference, Mobilize Ohio, in which several hundred foster and adoptive
[02:03.100] parents receive training as well as encouragement through scripture.
[02:08.780] When we officially launched Hope Ridge, our goal was to not only continue serving children
[02:13.340] and families in the river, but to also help those who are in danger of falling into the river.
[02:18.860] In hopes to prevent children and families from falling into the river to begin with,
[02:23.260] Hope Ridge has developed a program for vulnerable single moms. In this preventative program,
[02:28.380] we provide stable and safe housing at an affordable rate, connection to supportive services,
[02:34.460] as well as practical help. We walk alongside our moms, wrapping them with support and connection
[02:40.220] into healthy community and church family.
[02:43.100] We are also working downstream
[02:44.920] by intentionally supporting and wrapping around youth
[02:48.040] who are aging out or have aged out of the foster care system
[02:51.380] without connections to a forever family.
[02:54.160] We want to see restoration in this space
[02:56.320] and help to provide support,
[02:58.080] encouragement and a healthy community.
[03:02.080] We at Hope Bridge believe everyone has their place
[03:04.480] along the river.
[03:05.600] We believe that church involvement is the key to this work
[03:08.640] as it is kingdom work.
[03:10.200] We know that not everyone can do everything,
[03:12.600] but everyone can do something.
[03:14.840] We encourage you to find your place along the river
[03:17.640] by joining our efforts to keep children and families
[03:20.120] out of the raging waters,
[03:21.680] and to plant seeds of hope
[03:22.880] by creating Christ-centered communities
[03:24.960] for vulnerable children and families.
