MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Every Tuesday, as part of our Greater Memphis on a Mission Series, we highlight organizations making Memphis better. This week, we caught up with a group that believes in strengthening families for a better life.
Vicki Cox is the executive director of Cafe Idlewild. Cafe stands for Children and Family Enrichment. They’re a nonprofit organization that works with people throughout the city to help them mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences.
“If you were younger and you grew up in a household where someone close to you passed away, if you grew up with a one-parent household, if there was alcoholism or drugs or incarceration in your household, all of those are adverse childhood experiences,” Cox said.
To foster resilience in children and adults affected by trauma, they provide two programs. First is their Monday-Friday early enrichment center program for children aged six weeks to four years old. It focuses on brain development.
“We have a full curriculum that we share with the families,” Cox said. “We talk about their emotional growth. We talk about learning skills to get ready for kindergarten and first grade. We talk about those early reading skills.”
The second is their parent enrichment place program, which is designed to give parents and guardians the mental tools needed, through free counseling, to overcome adverse childhood experiences.
“Whether it be economic, whether it be social, whether it’d be mental health, whatever we need to do to build strong, resilient families in Memphis, that’s what we’re dedicated to do,” Cox said. “We want them to know what it’s like to have a good, healthy, inexpensive meal for a family of four. We want to talk about planning financially for you right now and for the future.
Maddy Redmond’s two daughters are enrolled in Cafe Idlewild. With no immediate family in town, Cafe Idlewild is their extended family.
“I love any opportunity to do any sort of extra engagement in learning or just experience for my children and myself. And I think that’s one thing that Cafe does well, is provide programming that supports families in being well,” Redmond said.
That is why Brown Missionary Baptist Church and the Mid-South Genesis CDC donated $1,000 to Cafe Idlewild. Because when you offer affordable, quality child care and resources for the whole family, you build a strong family foundation.