About Our Chapter
Volunteers
We currently have 25 active Host Families serving the Greater Memphis area serving the following counties in TN- Lauderdale, Tipton, Dyer, and also reaching into Mississippi into Desoto county. Additional volunteers help by providing support to parents such as transportation, mentoring, and help finding work. Other volunteers provide much-needed tangible items such as car seats and clothing.
If you would like to participate as a Host Family, Family Friend, or Resource Friend, contact us here.
https://vimeo.com/65823717
Churches
Memphis churches play a significant role in recruiting and supporting members to serve and reach out to parents who are in crisis situations. Churches of all sizes and various denominational or non-denominational backgrounds are active partners with Safe Families for Children of Memphis. Our volunteers, as followers of Jesus, are awakening to the urgent need of struggling families in our city and community. Safe Families for Children provides the process and structure the church needs to serve families in times of crisis.
https://vimeo.com/142301942
Our Team
Although our amazing volunteers are the ones who take the movement of Safe Families for Children into the community, they are professionally supported by the local Safe Families for Children staff. The Memphis Program Manager and Intake and Family Coach Supervisor work to engage churches, build the base of volunteers, train volunteers, transition the children, provide family coach supervision, network with other like-minded organizations and so much more.
Katie Dunlap, Program Manager
Katie grew up in small town Alabama and largely credits her compassionate spirit to her mom, who consistently demonstrated caring for those in need. The summer after her freshman year in college, Katie spent ten weeks in East St. Louis, IL working at the Christian Activity Center located beside the Samuel Gompers Homes. Her eyes were opened for the first time not only to extreme economic poverty but also to the amazing tenacity and resiliency of families surviving day-to-day. During that summer she became convinced that God was leading her to become a social worker. As a follower of Jesus and a church planter's wife, Katie is passionate about returning God's people to the forefront of caring for vulnerable children and families in our community. She and her husband, along with their children, planted Mercy Hill Church in 2011. They enjoy living and serving in the Vollintine-Evergreen neighborhood and Midtown. During her spare time, Katie enjoys being outdoors, chasing waterfalls, running, drinking coffee and spending quality time with Brad and their four boys.
Tammy Franklin, Intake & Family Coach Supervisor
Tammy grew up in a small rural town in Middle Tennessee where the community and church were very close knit. At an extremely young age she remembered spending countless hours with her grandmother attending church. Although she came from humble beginnings, the love she felt from her family and church were instrumental to how she perceived her life and did not allow her circumstances to limit her dreams. After serving in the United States Marine Corps for 24 years, she took some time and remained home to care for her children while substitute teaching. It was during those 8 years of teaching that God revealed and placed several at-risk students in her path. It was those students and her quest to change the trajectory of their future that sparked the interest in a new career. In 2016 she began a three-year journey to complete her master’s degree in social work. Since moving to Memphis in 2008, she has been involved with the Memphis Dream Center and The Life Church’s Germantown Campus. As a follower of Christ, she enjoys serving people, leading outreach teams, and mentoring the next generation. During her time away from work and family, Tammy enjoys gardening and exercising.