Kids Night Out for Emergency Responders by Ashley Stelling
Kids Night Out
The past few years have had a known impact on our law enforcement community. From the events of 2020 to the violence we are seeing against police on a national level, officers are learning to pivot, prepare, and protect themselves accordingly. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones; their families are too.
In the four and half years that I have been a chaplain, I have heard stories of families losing friendships, kids being told not to tell others that their parent is a police officer, and other struggles kids are experiencing due to this job.
In order for our officers to thrive in their jobs, their family needs to thrive first. Enter Kids Night Out.
My goal with Kids Night Out has been two-fold: give cop kids a safe place to meet other kids who understand their unique lifestyle, and give couples, or spouses, an evening of free childcare so they can enjoy a night out. Kids need a space to be kids. They need to know there are others who have family dynamics similar to theirs. Likewise, couples need intentional time to connect or time to themselves. This is an opportunity for our whole Region to come together and support their families. Agencies from all over Boulder County have participated, also allowing us to have chaplains and peer support members from the respective agencies volunteer to watch kids.
Kids Night Out is a 3-hour event, including carnival games, a bouncy house, and arts & crafts. No Friday night is complete without a pizza dinner. Both events have had over 20+ kids RSVP.
We have now done two Kids Night Out events. Our most recent Kids Night Out was sponsored by a Life Group from a local church. They used funds to buy the pizza for the kids and provide each couple with a $50 visa gift card. Another local church has kindly opened it’s property up for us, free of charge. Not only are we connecting with multiple agencies, but showing them the Church wants to bless them as well.
Our hope is to continue to do this, or a similar event, quarterly to continue to bless families. One of our employees said, “we have made new friends since these family events started.”
If you have questions about starting a Kids Night Out in your agency, give me a shout!
Ashley Stelling
ashley@rmpfc.org