Having spent years as a dedicated foster parent, Regina is now embarking on the heartfelt journey of adoption. Inspired by her mother’s three-decade-long commitment as a foster parent, Regina decided to become a foster parent herself. Regina had spent years being a pillar of strength for families, helping them navigate the challenges of raising children. She wanted to offer the same love and guidance to children and teens who might not have experienced such stability before. 

Regina began her journey with Family Service of Rhode Island’s (FSRI) Treatment Foster Care program and supported multiple placements through the reunification process, achieving the foster care program’s true goal. FSRI’s Treatment Foster Care program provides necessary clinical and management services to assist foster care families who are caring for some of the state’s most vulnerable children. Together, FSRI and Rhode Island communities are creating a network of care that extends beyond Regina’s household, embracing the entire community with purpose and compassion. 

Regina’s story serves as an inspiring example of how one person’s commitment to making a difference can create a ripple effect of positivity in a child’s life. Her journey as a foster parent in Rhode Island is a testament to the enduring power of love and the profound impact it can have on the lives of those in need. 

If you or a loved one is interested in learning more about being a foster parent or how you can make a lasting impact in the life of a child in need, contact our foster care recruitment team today! Visit our webpage for more information and contact details! https://www.familyserviceri.org/programs/foster-care/  

UPCOMING INFO SESSION: 
Tuesday, November 28th from 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Session held virtually – Click here to join 

Contact our Foster Care Recruiter
Jenny Donahue
Direct line: (401) 541-1928 
donahueje@familyserviceri.org 

So many of us have struggled through these last few difficult years. Now just imagine what it’s been like for our kids. These mental health stressors have hit our Rhode Island children especially hard– collateral damage of the uncertainty and isolation of COVID-19.

One out of every 3 kids is facing a serious mental health challenge– and all too often, help is not available.

We cannot sit still or stay silent.

We must act now!

So this year we’re doubling down on our efforts to end the children’s mental health crisis in Rhode Island, and making it our number one priority. And we’re asking you to join us.

We plan to expand our Children’s Mobile Crisis program, which provides immediate assistance to kids where and when they need it– 24/7.

Beyond offering acute care from our outpatient clinic at 55 Hope Street, we are rapidly expanding our staff to meet the needs of communities, schools, and homes– eliminating the lack of transportation as a barrier to care. We are committed to ensuring each family is able to connect with the services they need to thrive.

FSRI will be here for RI kids this year and always– and we hope you will be here for us. Will you help us get the word out about the crisis? Will you reach out to your personal and professional network to support this work? Will you volunteer with us? Will you make a donation today?

We realize that money is tight right now for so many– but we are hoping that many can give a little so that all can benefit a lot. Will you donate $50, $100, $500, or $1,000 to help OUR kids?

Right now, you can help end this crisis by ensuring that children who are suffering receive the support they need.  #JoinFSRI

With love and kindness for all,

Margaret Holland McDuff

You’ve stuck with us through thick and thin these last few years, helping your neighbors get through the toughest times of their lives, and we are so grateful for you!

This year we’re striving for a little less stress and A LOT more love–  we’re making this happen by supporting kids’ emotional wellness.

Did you know 50% more RI kids need help with anxiety, stress, depression, and loss since the pandemic? We’re frustrated that there are not enough therapists to meet this need.

We all know the mental health of our children is far too important to ignore– and FSRI is making this our primary focus in 2023.

Join us.

• Sign up to receive FSRI text messages
• Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter
• Sign up to volunteer with us
• Work with us

Thank you so much to all of you who made Be Safe possible. Whether you volunteered your time or invested your money in the program, you have made a substantial difference in the lives of Rhode Islanders who are at greater risk from Covid-19 and who are experiencing food insecurity.

In March 2020 you joined Family Service of RI (FSRI) to support your neighbors in need. Together, we provided life-saving COVID-19 prevention supplies and food assistance. Over the past three years, 623,000 meals have been delivered. These deliveries helped those at greatest risk from Covid-19 lower their chance of exposure while helping them to overcome issues associated with food insecurity.

We at FSRI, are all inspired by the amazing response from both corporate and individual donors and volunteers. You all got involved during a time of uncertainty to support those whose already precarious situations were made nearly impossible by the pandemic. This program has been an enormous success because of you.

As we wrap up our work on Be Safe, we continue to work hard to help those who have been most affected by the pandemic. As the issues of food insecurity continue to be addressed through partnerships formed during the course of this program, we are now moving to address the children’s mental health crisis, a crisis that was exacerbated by the pandemic with a 50% increase in those seeking help from 2019 to present.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to continuing to work with you as we tackle the next obstacle– the children’s mental health crisis.

Rhode Island’s Children’s mental health is the collateral damage of the COVID pandemic. They are facing a mental health crisis like never before and we cannot sit still or stay silent.

One in three children in Rhode Island who are in need of mental health care have difficulty obtaining it, and this sad statistic is coupled with the fact that there has been a 50% increase in those seeking help since the pandemic. This is one of the most important and dire issues facing our children today.  Family Service of Rhode Island, a leader in this field, is making the children’s mental health crisis our number one priority in 2023.

We are offering multiple programs and services to meet children where they are and to address their specific needs:

• Children’s Mobile Crisis Program – This program helps to remove barriers associated with getting children who are suffering from mental health issues the help they need quickly and safely, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
• Parent-Child Interactive Therapy – Addresses the issues of younger children, ages 2-7, who are too often left out of much-needed therapy.
• Outpatient Counseling – Outpatient works with each client and their support network to develop skills to manage mood, thinking, and behaviors to foster resiliency and healing, and become happier and healthier.
• Trauma Systems Therapy – For children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic events and/or who live in environments with ongoing stress.
• School Based Mental Health – Students receive individual or group psychotherapy sessions to help them address presenting problems such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, anger management, and mood disorders.
• Youth Mental Health First Aid – teaches how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among children and adolescents ages 6 to 18.

We hope that you will join us as we take action to bring the children’s mental health crisis in RI to an end. We can all help to conclude this crisis by ensuring that children who are suffering receive the support they need. 

After a two-year virtual hiatus, we had over 500 guests join us on October 3, including so many Rhode Island government and business leaders, and raised over $270,000 for FSRI’s early childhood development programs. Just INCREDIBLE!

Thank you so much for your support! This community shows us time and time again that together we can do great things.

There’s still time to give!

Text ‘FSRI4Kids‘ to 44-321 or click here.

But FSRI was already busy—brainstorming ways to help children and families in need. As store shelves began to run bare with panic, basics like masks, cleaning supplies, sanitizer, diapers, and toilet paper were increasingly in short supply for everyone. FSRI recognized early on there was an accessibility gap emerging that prevented many families from getting what they needed to stay safe.

It started with a simple idea—raise $5000 to buy enough PPE, cleaning supplies, and food to supply 200 FSRI clients that might need help finding and purchasing these items to keep themselves and their families safe.

It was an effort that FSRI leaders thought might last a week—or a few weeks.

But as time went on, that idea became a statewide movement in simple kindness. With a groundswell of support, volunteers and staff began assembling kits of supplies to be delivered to anyone that told us they needed one. The Be Safe campaign was born, bridging the accessibility gap for any Rhode Islander that needed it.

Over 25 area organizations donated supplies, time, effort, and money, alongside over 1200 everyday Rhode Islanders, who chipped in what they could– all while experiencing uncertainty themselves– to make sure their neighbors had what they needed to be safe, too.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year. Today we are grateful to say, because of your kindness, we’ve served over 35,000 Rhode Islanders in an effort that has truly saved lives. We did this, all of us – together.

There’s been immense grief and loss over the past 12 months. But we’re still here, delivering assistance to the doorsteps of those in need each day to keep ALL Rhode Islanders healthy and safe, as we figure this out together. And it’s still going. But we can’t do it without you.