Our Families

Safe Families for Children Iowa City/Cedar Rapids is made up of dozens of volunteer families throughout the Corridor who have opened up their homes and lives to parents and children in crisis. Through biblical hospitality, our volunteer families have come alongside dozens of parents and families in crisis throughout the Corridor who had nowhere else to turn. As a result of these volunteers, families in crisis have been able to overcome challenging circumstances and remain intact.

Our Churches

Churches throughout our network play a significant role with Safe Families. It is through a partnership with local churches that we are able to recruit, train and mobilize volunteers to care for children and their families. Throughout our network we have over a dozen churches that are either a Partner, Lead or Community Lead Church. If your church would like to participate with Safe Families, please let us know!

Our churches range from urban to suburban to rural, and from small to large. Some churches have many host families, family coaches and family friends. While other churches have just a few but also provide much needed support and resources to our volunteers. We are excited to see more and more churches see the need for helping families in crisis, and how simple acts of compassion and hospitality can truly impact lives, offer hope and provide a tangible expression of the Gospel.

Our Team

Safe Families for Children Iowa City/Cedar Rapids would not exist without our volunteers and churches.  Below are some of our key team members, who are both staff and volunteers in our region.

Carla is our Chapter Director and has served with Safe Families for Children since March 2020. She earned her B.S. in Child and Family Services from Iowa State University. She later had the honor to participate at TCU’s Institute of Child Development’s Trust-Based Relational Intervention® Professional Training Program in 2012 with the late Dr. Karyn Purvis. Carla has a deep understanding of the unique challenges families face. She works tirelessly to provide resources and support that help strengthen family units and foster positive environments for children to thrive. Carla’s passion is to advocate for underprivileged children and families with a goal to ensure families have access to adequate resources and a solid support network in place…. allowing families to not just exist, but to break generational cycles, thrive and live a happy and fulfilling life.

Al Perez has over 30 years in pastoral ministry, chaplaincy, and community development. Al has networking relationships across several community silos. His relationships from the Iowa Governor’s Office down to County Family Advocacy Organizations have given him inroads into leadership that can bridge the work of Safe Families For Children to our community. Al believes the mission of Safe Families is the sustainable model for community transformation. He is excited to see the brand of Safe Families For Children become the “Go To” Organization that Community Leaders trust and rely on bring about system change.