Twenty-One Years of The Rainbow Room

By Stacey Thompson, Rainbow Room Program Manager.

21 Years of the Partnerships for Children Rainbow Room ... Wow! I have been with PFC for six years and it feels like a lifetime. The intensity of life within the Department of Family Protective Services is inexplicable. I can say for certain that the Rainbow Room is a lifeline, a calming center, a ray of light, a reprieve, and an extremely important and appreciated resource within the walls of DFPS.

The Rainbow Rooms were created in 2003, when Laura Bush was the First Lady of Texas, to help caseworkers get basic necessities for children on their cases, allowing them to focus on their work: keeping children in a safe, comfortable living situation. Since its foundation, our Rainbow Room has worked hard at taking our services to the next level.

When I started 6 years ago, we were serving around 450 kids monthly; now we serve around 700 monthly. My first Holiday Wishes we served around 4,000 kids, but still struggled to get each child sponsored and shopped for; now we serve 6,500 kids and every child is sponsored. I have seen so much growth and an outpouring of love in my 6 years at PFC, and I can say without a doubt, we couldn't do what we do without the generous community that helps to support the kids connected to CPS.

Rainbow Room in 2006

All of the highs and lows that we experience in life can be experienced within minutes in the Rainbow Room. One minute, you hear about children who get to go back home because their parents have worked so hard to do everything they can to bring their children back to them. The next minute, a child is in the building from an emergency removal and their caseworker asks "what all do we have" to support this child in the next chapter of their journey.

Caseworkers do some of the hardest work. The stories they hear and the things they can witness are horrendous, yet they show up day after day because they believe in the healing and strength of humanity. They know they are called to be a part of a journey that is going to be bumpy, but they want to ensure they are there to help lift up a child while their family might be in the depths of their pain and hardship.

I take my role in sharing the abundance of what we are given very seriously, to make sure it gets into the hands of the 24 year old that has taken in her cousin's baby because she is trying to find her way out of addiction; the 21 year old taking in their 17 year old sister so that she doesn't have to enter care because they personally know what that is like. I will go that extra mile to fix that broken bike left over from Holiday Wishes because it was intended for a child, and I have gotten a request that a kid needs it to ride to school because their single parent household has to get to work early and cannot drive them to school; and the countless family members on fixed incomes that take in children to keep some consistency in their lives. Every day I ask to be given the strength to share love and light, and I just try hard to spread that to everyone I encounter that day.

We help families pay for partial rent and utilities in the Family Based Safety Services stage as they try to keep kids with their family. Through the help of Casey Family Services, we also help pay partial rent and utilities for those in the Kinship stage of care to help relieve some of the financial burden, as many of these family members can be on a fixed income. Our Holiday Wishes program serves 25+ counties to ensure kids get to have presents for the holidays, and to take the financial weight off families helping to care for youth connected to CPS. Over the course of the year, we give out thousands of school supplies, backpacks, water bottles, and basic school necessities so a child can have what they need to be as successful as possible in their school year.

Rainbow Room in 2024

The list of essential items we are able to offer to the kids connected to CPS is tremendous, and our caseworkers are always so appreciative to be able to get what they need when they need it. We are so fortunate and so grateful to be supported by such a generous community - thank you!