Statements
Mission
We exist to ensure the well-being of the child by nurturing individuals and families. Miriam's Promise is dedicated to healing and emotional health by providing pregnancy counseling, mentoring, child counseling and family counseling along with domestic and international adoption services. We value:Permanency for Children, Family Nurturing, Respect for Individuals and Choices, Outreach, Faith in God, and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.
Background
In June l984, Holston Home for Children, Inc. of Greeneville, Tennessee and the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church created a satellite office in Nashville. In 1996, the name of the agency was changed to Miriam's Promise. Our vision was to extend the promise of hope and healing to anyone facing the despair of untimely pregnancy or the grief of infertility.Our story began with a baby...Thousands of years ago, a desperate slave woman saved the life of her infant son by hiding him in a basket along the riverbank. When the baby was discovered and adopted by an Egyptian princess, his sister Miriam offered their mother's services as a wet-nurse; fostering hope and healing for the birthmother, the adoptive mother and the infant called Moses.Whether we are remembering the sweet baby Jesus...or recollecting thoughts of Moses...each memory draws us to a desire to protect and defend the innocence of childhood.As opportunity and need continued to present itself, Miriam's Promise eventually included both domestic and international adoption services, joined by family counseling and support groups for birth parents, waiting families and trans-racial adoptions. On January 1, 2003, Miriam's Promise became an independent non-profit agency. Our staff has led the community in best practices in adoptions and attachment and continue to be advocates in adoption law, community outreach, and education. Originally intended to serve 12-15 pregnancy clients per year, the agency has grown to serve over 200 pregnancy clients, children, adoptive families and prospective adoptive parents annually. Currently, Miriam's Promise has 6 full-time staff members. We also utilize undergraduate and graduate interns from local colleges and graduate schools.
Impact
In 2012, Miriam's Promise achieved Hague Accreditation by the Council on Accreditation for international adoptions. We received re-accreditation in May of 2016, and again in 2020. This accreditation allows Miriam's Promise to pursue adoption opportunities for those families seeking to grow their family through international adoption. Many of the children we see are defined as "children from hard places", which includes children who have experienced some type of abuse, neglect, trauma, prenatal exposure to substances, high levels of stress, difficult labor or birth and/or early medical trauma. Our children that we serve began their lives in chaotic birth families, were exposed prenatally to drugs, faced multiple interruptions in caregivers or began their lives in international orphanages. These factors put them at risk for trauma, issues with brain development, as well as sensory processing issues. This interruption or disability to process makes it difficult to complete daily tasks and can impact motor skills, behavior, and emotional well-being. Sensory processing deficits can exacerbate disruption in attachment, social and emotional development, and academic success. In 2012, two of our staff completed intensive training through the child development institute at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI). They are both now qualified to train other professionals in TBRI. In 2013, two more of our staff completed this training. This enables us to help both children and adoptive parents in their quest to form healthy attachments and strong connections with their children. In 2020 we were able to walk with 115 families on their adoption journey; 12 expectant mothers sought counseling; and 23 children were placed with their forever families or had their adoptions finalized. Miriam's Promise is committed to welcoming and affirming all voices and perspectives throughout our organization. All humans, regardless of color, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression/identity, or different abilities are valued. We know that only through diversity, equity, and inclusion will we reach our full potential as we continue to ensure the well-being of the child by nurturing individuals and families.
Needs
We are always in need of gift cards to grocery and discount stores. We give these to our pregnancy clients for gas, groceries and household needs. We provide about $2,000 per year in gift cards. While we have a strong and loyal base of volunteers (over 140), we are in constant need of additional volunteers to assist staff on site and help with annual fundraisers. We are always seeking new board members who have a heart for the mission of Miriam's Promise. Volunteers are also needed to provide in-kind skills such as: communication and marketing pieces, IT services and wider referral relationships with other non-profits.
CEO Statement
Our mission is to ensure the well-being of the child by nurturing individuals and families. We take that mission seriously in the work we do in pregnancy counseling, adoption services, and family counseling. Because our clients are vulnerable, it is critical that we respond with great care and respect to all that come through our doors. While we may never fully know each hurt that exists for every client, we do understand the grief and great needs that remains after separations, abandonments, broken attachments, infertility and unplanned pregnancies. Since 1985, we have provided hope and healing to thousands of children and families who are coping with issues of grief, loss and transition. We are unique because of our long-term commitment to the children and families we serve. As the needs of our clients and children have changed and intensified, out staff continues to equip itself through continuing education. All program and senior staff are Masters level. After 31 years of service, our long-time executive director, Debbie Robinson has retired. As part of our succession plan, I was tapped to lead the organization into the next chapter. We will be expanding our counseling services and building programs for older adoptees, adopted children whose parents are going through divorce, and focusing on educating hospital staff in adoption and pregnancy counseling. We took the opportunity during the pandemic to slow down and evaluate the work we are doing. Through this evaluation, we have added online adoption education, become more inclusive and welcoming to all current and potential clients, and renewed our commitment to offering confidential pregnancy counseling, at no cost to the client. This is an exciting time for Miriam's Promise and I look forward to the future and what it holds. J. Dietz Osborne, MS President & CEO
Board Chair Statement
At Miriam's Promise, above all else we seek to ensure the well-being of the child by nurturing individuals and families. Which child is that? Great question.
Our work began as an adoption agency established to help Middle Tennessee children find forever homes with loving families. That mission grew over time to incorporate everyone in the adoption constellation, from the expectant mother making the most difficult decision of her life to the prospective adoptive parents waiting for their opportunity to love a child of their own and, of course, the child, who may need care, counseling and comfort throughout their lives. Our staff provide adoption placement and related services, advocacy for birth parents and parent training to support new families. But too often missing from the adoption conversation is a focus on what happens leading up to placement and in the years after.
Pregnant people who need options are finding fewer and fewer across the country. They need caring and trusted counselors who will help them examine all the possibilities and walk side-by-side with them as they consider if they want to parent the child they carry. No matter their decision, our counselors will be there for them to help process and heal. And even when placed in secure, loving homes, children of adoption can experience difficulty and even trauma in youth and adulthood. Our highly skilled counselors know the layers of complexity inherent in adoption and are committed to helping serve those affected by it.
Our staff honor the grief, joy, pain and anticipation that so many families experience. We approach the breaks in attachment that adoption brings with attunement, and we work to repair attachment through relationships. I am deeply honored to serve as the Board Chair for an organization that works with integrity, commitment and reflection to further our mission and improve the lives of some of our most vulnerable neighbors.
Joe Bass, Board Chair
Service Categories |
|
| Primary Category: | Human Services - Adoption |
| Secondary Category: | Human Services - Family Services (Adolescent Parents) |
| Tertiary Category: | Human Services - Family Services |
Areas Served
As an agency affiliated with the Tennessee Western Kentucky Conference of The United Methodist Church, our focus is within the Conference's jurisdiction. We provide services primarily to the Middle Tennessee area; covering the 42 counties of Middle Tennessee. However because of the services we provide to families our outreach is national as well as international.
| TN - Bedford |
| TN - Cannon |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Clay |
| TN - Coffee |
| TN - Cumberland |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - DeKalb |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Fentress |
| TN - Franklin |
| TN - Giles |
| TN - Hickman |
| TN - Houston |
| TN - Humphreys |
| TN - Jackson |
| TN - Lawrence |
| TN - Lewis |
| TN - Lincoln |
| TN - Macon |
| TN - Marshall |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Overton |
| TN - Perry |
| TN - Pickett |
| TN - Putnam |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Smith |
| TN - Stewart |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Van Buren |
| TN - Warren |
| TN - Wayne |
| TN - White |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Moore |
| TN - Trousdale |
| TN |
