The Maddie’s Place Mom Program is one of the most inspirational spaces at Maddie’s as of late. The purpose of the program is to meet parents where they are at, helping them to access any support or community resources that they need, all while encouraging them in their recovery and parenting.
The team consists of seven incredible individuals all bringing their own, unique skillsets to best serve the parents that come through our doors.
But it wasn’t always like this. At its roots, the Mom Team began with one person: Kim Dunham, our Director of Family Advocacy.
Kim’s heart for those suffering from addiction started at a young age. After her biological father passed away due to substance abuse, Kim’s conviction to serve others struggling in the same way sparked.
So, after pursuing a degree in psychology and sociology, Kim began her career in Juvenile Corrections, coming face to face with many youths who were most likely exposed to substances in utero. From there, she worked in the courts as a Guardian Ad Litem (a court appointed special advocate designated to represent the best interest of a child in court proceedings), and then started at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
With this experience, Kim gained invaluable knowledge of how to best serve children and families affected by substance abuse.
Maddie’s Place came into the picture when Kim was invited to its informational advisory meeting in 2017. Upon listening to the vision of Maddie’s Place, she knew that this line of work would be her dream job. So, when the founder, Tricia Hughes, asked Kim to join the team, she was immediately on board.
From that meeting on, Kim started to dream up the Mom Program. She was officially hired in September 2022, right before Maddie’s Place first opened its doors to the public.
A few months later, Maddie’s Place received enough funding to hire Katie Bunch-Smith, a former addict celebrating six years in recovery at the time, as the very first Peer Support Specialist.
For about a year, Kim and Katie were the Mom Team. They coordinated all external resources, rides to appointments, intakes, and anything related to the parents of babies staying at Maddie’s Place. They were quite busy ladies.
However, things began to change for the Mom Program as the relationship between Maddie’s Place and Spokane County grew. At the beginning of 2024, Maddie’s Place signed a contract with the county that would provide funding specifically for the Mom Program!
With this funding, Maddie’s Place was able to expand the Mom Team, start a food program, provide respite for former babies up to a year old, and provide access to so many other events and resources to aid parents in their recovery journey.
“That was always the vision, finding out what they need, believing that they can do it, and supporting them through the hard times” (Dunham).
Recently, we had our largest group of parents at Maddie’s Place at one time, with six moms and one dad. This provided the perfect opportunity for the program to develop and solidify.
Looking forward, Kim hopes to expand this vision by including a volunteer program that would invite the community to contribute their own, individual strengths to support these parents in recovery.
Questions? Suggestions? Email me at emma.cunningham@maddiesplace.org
This blog was posted on April 5, 2024.