Ensuring safety, security, bright futures for children during times of stress
Simply Smiles Inc.
Written by Hallie Riggs, MSW, LCSW, CSW-PIP, Clinical Director of the Simply Smiles Children’s Village
With this worldwide pandemic comes uncertainty for all of us–especially children. History teaches us that during times of a global crisis, children experience greater suffering.
For parents, loss of jobs and suspension of wages means stress. Stress means a limited bandwidth for caring for children. When caregivers are stressed and don’t have access to the support and tools they need, we see an increase in child abuse. We also see an increase in substance use. And in domestic violence.
Many children depend upon their school environment for basic needs like safety, nutrition, and connection. The closing of schools means food insecurity. It also means an absence of adequate supervision. As a child therapist, I have asked many children over the years who their “safe person” is. In other words, who do they feel they can turn to when they have a problem? Countless times, kids and teenagers have told me, without hesitation, that it’s their English teacher. Their school nurse. Their guidance counselor. Their best friend, who they sit with every day at lunch.
In light of school closings, social distancing, and mandatory quarantine, these protective relationships are absent, leaving many children vulnerable and without the support they need to navigate an increasingly unpredictable day-to-day reality.
COVID-19 impacts children currently living in foster care. Foster parenting is, for all intents and purposes, a volunteer job. While foster parents receive a stipend for things like clothing and daycare, many of the day-to-day expenses of parenting fall on them. In light of so many of these caregivers being unable to work, losing their primary sources of income, child welfare providers are anticipating disruptions in placement. This means children being moved from the homes that have become familiar to them, enduring more trauma.
The first home in the Simply Smiles Children’s Village on the Cheyenne River Reservation.
At the Simply Smiles Children’s Village, we provide safety, predictability, and love at a time when children need it most. In spite of this pandemic, and especially because of it, our work must continue. With our first of six village homes built, and with the support of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the state of South Dakota, our primary focus is in securing Native caregivers on whom the children in our care can count.
To our Native partners, to those who have been behind our effort since the beginning, and to those who are just learning about the work we do–we need you now more than ever.
To those of you who have always contemplated becoming a foster parent, and to those of you who may be considering such a commitment for the first time–we need you now more than ever. We need Native adults who are willing to dedicate their love, time, and energy to the next generation. Please consider joining our initiative.