In 2008, two foster parents in Forsyth County were deeply affected by a tough situation while fostering a child. They decided to start a support group for foster and adoptive families that met at the local public library. After just a few meetings (and realizing there was a true need in the community), the original support group founders and foster parents started SAFFT.

It was in early 2009 that SAFFT launched parenting support programs in Forsyth County.  In order to support these efforts, SAFFT opened its first Visitation Center in Cumming, Ga., in June 2010 with the purpose  to provide families with a neutral location for supervised visitations to take place. The Visitation Center (now called the Family Life Center) also offers an individualized, needs-based parenting curriculum to enhance a caretaker’s ability to provide a nurturing and structured home environment in accordance with the Juvenile Court and Department of Family & Children Services requirements.

In 2012, in partnership with the CJCC and other domestic violence agencies, SAFFT was awarded a grant from the Office for Violence Against Women to open the first visitation program in North Georgia to serve victims of domestic violence. By 2013, SAFFT had outgrown their location and moved into a 10,000-square-foot facility on Castleberry Road.

Today, Thrive Together operates a second location and Family Life Center in Hall County. In recent years, the need for this kind of support in the community has greatly increased, and SAFFT’s success and ability to serve these families in crisis has widened into the following surrounding counties (other than Forsyth and Hall): Banks, Barrow, Cherokee, Dawson, Fulton, Gwinnett, Habersham, Jackson, Lumpkin, and White.

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In 2008, two foster parents in Forsyth County were deeply affected by a tough situation while fostering a child. They decided to start a support group for foster and adoptive families that met at the local public library. After just a few meetings (and realizing there was a true need in the community), the original support group founders and foster parents started SAFFT.

It was in early 2009 that SAFFT launched parenting support programs in Forsyth County.  In order to support these efforts, SAFFT opened its first Visitation Center in Cumming, Ga., in June 2010 with the purpose  to provide families with a neutral location for supervised visitations to take place. The Visitation Center (now called the Family Life Center) also offers an individualized, needs-based parenting curriculum to enhance a caretaker’s ability to provide a nurturing and structured home environment in accordance with the Juvenile Court and Department of Family & Children Services requirements.

In 2012, in partnership with the CJCC and other domestic violence agencies, SAFFT was awarded a grant from the Office for Violence Against Women to open the first visitation program in North Georgia to serve victims of domestic violence. By 2013, SAFFT had outgrown their location and moved into a 10,000-square-foot facility on Castleberry Road.

Today, Thrive Together operates a second location and Family Life Center in Hall County. In recent years, the need for this kind of support in the community has greatly increased, and SAFFT’s success and ability to serve these families in crisis has widened into the following surrounding counties (other than Forsyth and Hall): Banks, Barrow, Cherokee, Dawson, Fulton, Gwinnett, Habersham, Jackson, Lumpkin, and White.

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