Kindred Hearts South Carolina

Kindred Hearts SC's mission is to ensure kinship caregivers (grandparents, aunts/uncles, older siblings, other family members or family friends) who are raising their kin's children have access to resources needed for the family to thrive.

If one were to mention the term "kinship care" to a large audience, it is likely the words would be foreign to most of them. For far too long, kinship care has remained an afterthought in the world of social services. The lack of attention and priority of care has ultimately affected the livelihood of children in this group. Thus, leaving children and families longing for the resources to lead them to a self-sustainable and thriving household. Kinship care is the care and guardianship of children by family members or close family friends. Children are placed in kinship care through two avenues: formal placement: private placement or foster care and informal/voluntary placement: arrangement between birth parents and caregiver without court involvement.

We host kinship circles (support groups), resource days, engage in community outreach and advocacy, and promote volunteer-driven case management. We are actively gauging resource needs, analyzing barriers, and hearing directly from the adults providing care to ensure we are offering a rare chance to create and alter programs that are truly centered for and driven by the caregivers.

Testimonials

Kindred Hearts has been able to maintain monthly contact with over 150 kinship caregivers. Our efforts are contributed to the strong relationship we are building with persons and organizations that are intentional in their works for better living for our children and families. We are so excited to build our work through this collaborative method.

For over five years, individual and corporate donations have allowed us to host support groups, resource days, and a CareGiver's Gala.