Little Rock Programs Focus on Relief for Special Needs Families
It can be difficult to coordinate a caregiver so that couples can enjoy an evening to themselves — even to do something as mundane as go to the grocery store or grab fast food together. A number of local churches and other groups have started ministries to provide childcare and other services to help give parents a break.
Night Owls at Chenal Valley Church provides childcare for kids with special needs and their siblings three times per year, once in the spring, summer and fall. All families with special needs children can take advantage of the program at no charge, whether they attend Chenal Valley Church or not.
“For November, we’re trying something a little different,” said Christy Oldham, children’s minister. “We decided we’d try scheduling in the morning to allow parents to go Christmas shopping instead of an evening date.”
The event will take place Saturday, Nov. 12 from 9-11:30 a.m. Night Owls is staffed entirely by volunteers, who provide one-on-one care during the three hours of childcare.
“The goal is to keep (kids) safe and to have fun with them. There are no other agendas besides that,” Oldham said. “We have a lot of volunteers at church that help with this, from teachers to school therapists to doctors, nurses and others who just want to play with the kids or grandmas who want to rock the babies. It’s definitely a church-wide effort.”
Fellowship Bible Church has an even more ambitious program, which over the past 15 years has grown to serve the social and spiritual needs of children from infancy through early adulthood.
“We have Sunday school classes for some of the older kids who don’t really get to connect in a typical youth group,” said Amy Moore, pastor. “We do the buddy program a lot with our kids so they can still be in a typical environment and because we really believe in inclusion as much as possible.”
The church also sponsors a date night for parents, part of a national program called The Recess, which is open to all families regardless of church affiliation.
“We really have a heart for reaching out to the community and building partnerships not only with other churches but also with other agencies in the area,” Moore said. “As a faith-based community we can support a group of individuals who sometimes really get overlooked.”