A Message from Dr. David Anderson, Executive Director
Child abuse and neglect usually happen behind closed doors, but with so many kids at risk, it’s everybody’s business. April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and I want to take the opportunity to tell you about three LYDIA programs that help address this important issue in our community.

The first is Safe Families, which on April 2 was honored by Prevent Child Abuse Illinois and DCFS as one of three recipients of the Program of Excellence Award. Safe Families is indeed gaining notoriety among child welfare organizations in the state and around the country, because it allows parents to deal with problems (unemployment, drug abuse, etc.) while their children are being cared for by a loving Christian family.

Healthy Families, located in the Austin Community of Chicago, provides free home visits to educate women about prenatal and child care, beginning when mom is pregnant and continuing through the child’s fifth year. Last year, caseworkers made approximately 1,500 home visits to 45 low-income women, and 34 women took advantage of our Doula Program.

And then there is Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) offered through LYDIA Counseling Center in Chicago. This positive, intensive program is for children ages 2-8 who are experiencing chronic behavioral problems at school and home. Therapists observe parents interacting with their child, then provide feedback and coaching to improve the relationship and the child’s response to discipline. In many cases, PCIT achieves striking results.

When you support LYDIA programs like these with your financial gifts and prayers, you are really investing in people who might otherwise sink into a cycle of abuse and neglect. Thank you for being part of what God is doing at LYDIA!

Mark Your Calendar!
18th Annual Charity Auction and Horse Sale at Salem Ranch
Saturday, April 14

Come one, come all to the Salem Ranch Charity Auction and Horse Sale on Saturday April 14! This fun family day at Salem Ranch in Flanagan, Ill. (90 miles south of Chicago) begins at 8:30 a.m. with a bake sale and charity auction, followed by the horse sale at 1 p.m. Other festivities include a hog roast and low-cost family-style lunch—even inflatable carnival attractions for kids! All proceeds will benefit the ministry of Salem Ranch, a Christian boarding school affiliated with LYDIA that helps troubled boys address all of the important aspects of their lives so they can return home to their families.

To volunteer, make a donation to the charity auction or review a catalog of sale horses, please call the Ranch at (815) 796-4561. Additional information is available at www.salemranch.com.

2007 Benefit Gala
Monday, December 3

Table hosts, event sponsors and other volunteers are needed for LYDIA’s 2007 Benefit Gala, to be held December 3 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. The event could be our largest ever, as we welcome well-known evangelist and author Josh McDowell as our Featured Speaker! To learn more, please contact Erica Postma, Associate Director of Development, at or (773) 736-1447, ext. 249.

90th Anniversary Celebration
The Chicago Board of Directors invites all friends of LYDIA to attend a 90th Anniversary Dinner in early fall! Ministry partners, volunteers, staff and former staff members, even former clients, are welcome to join us we celebrate the ministry past and present. More details will follow in future editions of LYDIA Today.

Give to LYDIA — At the Office
Did you know you can designate LYDIA as a recipient of your United Way donation when you participate in a United Way workplace giving campaign? Ask your employer how to do so when the campaign comes your way this fall! Questions? Contact Judy Devlin, Development Associate, by calling her at (773) 736-1447, ext. 223 or emailing .

A Safety Net in Times of Crisis
By Tom Maluga, Director of Safe Families

Families — especially those in urban areas — are becoming more and more fractured, leaving many people without the safety net of support they need in difficult circumstances. Safe Families volunteers provide that safety net, stepping in to care for children when parents are unable or unwilling to do it themselves.

Such was the case for baby “Kristen,” whose mother, “Keilah,” was facing a high-pressure situation of her own. Single and barely out of her teens, she already had one child when Kristen was born. Also, she lacked the support of parents—particularly her mother, who had a long history of substance abuse and incarceration.

Keilah and her children moved in with Keilah’s stepfather, who urged her to consider giving Kristen up for adoption. The adoption counselor — sensing that Keilah desperately wanted to keep Kristen — referred her to Safe Families.

Kristen is now in the care of Safe Families volunteers Jeff and Kathy Karlin, who have developed a relationship of spiritual encouragement with Keilah as she works to create a stable home environment for her children. It’s an arrangement that allows her the time and space she needs to grow and mature, and gives the Karlins the opportunity to demonstrate God’s love to both mother and baby in a tangible way.

Safe Families volunteers are needed to keep pace with demand for this high-impact program. To learn more, please call (773) 736-1447 or e-mail .