The Rose Francis Foundation Fund

In 2021 a mother of three young children and an infant, Haja Jallow-Konrat, and owner of Caring Hearts Behavioral Services, LLC in Fayetteville, North Carolina was faced with the incredible opportunity to support a mother with young children and an infant that were experiencing intersectional hardships due to financial insecurity with nowhere to turn. Following a conversation with the mother with young children and an infant, Haja learned that she and her small children had been living out of their vehicle for a few days because they had previously lost their home and were not eligible to be accepted into the shelters in the area, due to the ages of the small children and shelter capacity. After the heart-wrenching conversation with the mother of the small children, Haja took the opportunity to check them into a hotel for a few days with extra funds for food and other basic needs. This family caught a break for a few days .. this same story happens all too often in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Haja has found herself many times since 2021 supporting mothers with small children to meet their most basic needs when the social safeguards in Fayetteville fail to.

The Rose Francis Foundation was created with mothers of small children and infants central to our mission to provide resources to low-income individuals and families. In addition, provide and disseminate behavioral services to individuals with behavioral challenges and those with developmental and intellectual abilities. As a newer nonprofit organization, the Rose Francis Foundation seeks to create sustainable financial safeguards and address food insecurity for mothers with small children and infants through our emergency financial assistance fund and our Rose Francis Foundation Food Pantry and Community Fridge in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

In the Cumberland County Department of Public Health 2019 Report found In “19% of residents are considered food insecure. Poverty is an underlying barrier to access healthy food, and 42.9% of mothers in Cumberland County live in poverty.” (DOH, 2021) To sustainably address this major gap in social safeguards in our community The Rose Francis Foundation is answering the urgent call to contribute to a future without food insecurity, lack of immediate financial support, and free access to behavioral services for families with children and young adults with developmental and intellectual abilities. To effectively address these large social gaps in our community we are asking for $10,000 in start-up funds to immediately begin serving mothers and their young children to meet their basic needs for food access, emergency financial assistance, and behavioral services.

Our Services

Food Pantry and Community Fridge is a space that houses and stores perishable and non-perishable food that is free to community members in need of access to food and other resources. In this space, we also store free menstrual products, condoms, seasonal clothing for children up to age four, seasonal survival kits, diapers, etc.

Emergency Financial Assistance is a fund that is disseminated based on our unique needs assessment tool which prioritizes mothers with young children and/or infants up to $500. This fund will allow families to re-apply for access to emergency assistance every three months.

Follow us on our journey to serve our community in Fayetteville, North Carolina by checking out our website www.rosefrancisfoundation.org and all major social media platforms @therosefrancisfoundation.