The Jetsons helped us imagine a world where cars could fly and robots could clean up our messes - in this episode we are imagining what it looks like when the Church supports families even before child welfare needs to remove children from homes. How do we create supports that help families stabilize and reunify, and cultivate good soil in our communities that allows families to thrive?
We hear from Clint Brauer, a scientist who really does use robots to help cultivate healthy soil, so that crops can produce good fruit. Jeff Chaisson with Salty Family Services shares about the ways in which his organization is able to help vulnerable families, and gives a lot of great starting points for those who desire to support families in their own communities. We close with Ariel Moore, a biological mom who has experienced brokenness, homelessness, addiction, incarceration and finally, redemption.
Resources and Guests
Featured Resource: Until There’s More Than Enough
Until There’s More than Enough is a faith-based field guide for collaborative foster care transformation in your community. The words “not enough” are heard every day inside of our nation’s foster care system . . . Not enough resources. Not enough support. Not enough families.
But it doesn’t have to be that way where you live. If you were to find and effectively collaborate with the right people, your county could go from “not enough” to “more than enough.” This book will help you lay the essential groundwork to see that happen.
The expanded second edition of Until There’s More Than Enough is a field guide for collaborative foster care transformation in your community. Through principles and concrete practices of healthy collaboration, you’ll find a path forward to create greater community involvement, build stronger relationships, and get better results for children and families than you could working alone.
Find single copies of the book (and the audiobook!) on Amazon and for bulk order information go here.
Mentioned in the Episode: Farm Robot Videos
Mentioned in the Episode: Stephanie Sanders on the MTE Podcast
This episode of the More Than Enough Podcast features Stephanie Sanders, a mother who was supported by Salty Family Services.
Stephanie Sanders is a 48-year-old single mother and recovering addict who has been sober for five years. She is a survivor of human trafficking, domestic violence, and early childhood trauma. Stephanie shares, “Through the love and consideration of Christian organizations I was shown the true love of God. God's grace and mercy has been poured over my life and I'm able to now work with young girls and women and support their journey of healing.”
The episode also features Susan Klaus from Agape Ranch and Adrien Lewis and Lisa McNearny from CarePortal as they all share about how meeting tangible needs for children and families can turn into so much more.
Clint Brauer | Greenfield Robotics
American market. He later served as Vice President of Marketing at Fox Interactive Media before returning to Cheney to run his family farm. Clint grew up farming alongside his dad, continuing the family legacy as a third-generation farmer. When his father developed Parkinson’s Disease—believed to be linked to exposure to farming chemicals—Clint began envisioning Greenfield Robotics.
He and his team developed autonomous farming robots that cut down weeds close to the ground. This solution for farmers, developed by a farmer, greatly reduces the need for toxic herbicides. Greenfield Robotics has garnered significant attention, including investment from Chipotle, as well as backing from other industry leaders such as ILS, one of the nation’s largest beef producers, and MKC, an agricultural co-op representing 11,000 farming members.
The company recently launched its first crowdfunding campaign to scale its BOTONY fleet of farming robots, and accelerate the development of additional capabilities aligned with principles of regenerative agriculture. Brauer has also advised multiple startups with exits.
Greenfield Robotics: www.greenfieldrobotics.com
More information on the company: www.investgreenfieldrobotics.com
Jeff Chaisson | Salty Family Services
In 2013 Jeff Chaisson and his wife Frances, co-founded a non-profit to help families at risk. Jeff had over 20 years of social services experience in Florida working with youth struggling with substance abuse and families in the foster care system, while Frances having spent many years working in the project management field. Their backgrounds combined with a passion to make a difference, allowed them to establish a ministry focused on family preservation in their community. The ministry was started in their home and grew quickly. Then in 2016, Salty Church brought them onto their team so that this ministry could continue the mission and expand to reach many more families in need. The ministry, which is now known as Salty Family Services continues to grow at a rapid pace. Their mission is to Rescue, Serve, and Empower families to prevent child abuse and neglect. Since 2016, Salty Family Services has reached over 2,000 families and impacted over 3,700 children in Volusia and Flagler Counties of Florida.
Ariel Moore | Center for Social Innovation
Ariel Moore is the Senior Director for the Center for Social Innovation at Oklahoma State University in Oklahoma City where she gets to help lead people coming out of backgrounds of criminal justice involvement, poverty, trauma, substance abuse, and many other barriers into enriching lives full of purpose and hope through individualized opportunities for education, training, and support.
Her personal journey has been one filled with brokenness, homelessness, addiction, incarceration and finally, redemption. After experiencing the pain of losing her own child into the foster care system when he was 6 months old, she was able to use that experience as the catalyst towards her own personal and spiritual transformation.
Jason Weber | Host