Concrete Support in Times of Need
Written by Tim Buckley, November 2025
“We can’t arrange the universe,” said CBEL’s training consultant Rick Newton, “but we can arrange the potential for it to manifest.” The quote neatly expresses the intention of CBEL’s work in Salem and Keizer neighborhoods.
“At the center of everything CBEL does are the Five Protective Factors for strengthening families,” he continued. The five factors include:
Social connections
Concrete support in times of need
Knowledge about parenting and child development
Social and emotional competence
Parental resilience
“Instead of focusing on risk factors, we focus on protective factors,” Rick explained. “It’s similar to how we try to build our immune system to avoid illness.”
“The idea to use the Five Protective Factors in community work came out of work that Jim Seymour (CBEL’s director) did when he was still the CEO of Catholic Community Services,” Rick continued. “The five factors made up the core of a We Flourish Together program started in 2013, and we have adopted them into our work in CBEL’s five neighborhoods.”
CBEL’s Infant Toddler Play Groups, co-facilitated by Rick and Whitney Contreras, are the newest manifestation of that strategy:
Social connections. The play groups have become a safe, fun activity for families in the Highland, Kennedy and Cummings neighborhoods in north Salem and Keizer. Participation continues to grow, based exclusively on word of mouth.
“At the end of each play group’s time, it has become increasingly common for kids to keep playing and the adults continuing to talk,” Rick said. "Nobody wants to leave,” he laughed. “They so enjoy each other’s company, they even stay later to help us clean up and pack away the toys and craft supplies.”
Concrete support. Each play group begins with a shared meal and ends with participants leaving with gift cards they turn into necessities for the family – fuel for the car, groceries, or clothing for the kids. Beyond these things, it is the bonds of friendship that show up as support. These families have each others’ back.
Knowledge about parenting and child development. Each session features a time to play, make handicrafts, or sit and read books with your children. The books, provided by the Marion-Polk Early Learning Hub and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, help build literacy and understanding about children’s development at the same time. Likewise, each session has short learning modules – in Spanish and English – like the RULER or Outward Mindset skills – that include new skills for self-discovery and family connection.
Social and emotional competence for both adults and children happens in a casual, creative way.
“When families arrive, we have each of the kids use the Mood Meter (magnets placed on a metal tray covered with a chart that lists a range of emotions) to describe how they’re feeling,” Rick said. “We invite parents to do that too, and I remember last time when one curious youngster crowded in while his mother placed her magnet and asked, ‘What are you feeling, Mom?’
Parental resilience is a byproduct of increased support and a sense of safety and solidarity created by these gatherings.
“I remember so clearly the struggle I experienced when I became a single parent,” Rick added. “I was impoverished and it was really hard on me emotionally that I couldn’t give my children the things that other families had.”
“The fact that two church organizations have eagerly stepped up to help support these play groups shows the depth of understanding they have about the Five Protective Factors,” Rick continued. “Salem Evangelical Church in North Salem and Crossroads Fellowship in Keizer have become sanctuaries where people feel safe and warmly welcomed. The play groups wouldn’t have come to be without their partnership,” he concluded. “Their gift of space, volunteers, supplies and food is huge, and another example of the second protective factor: concrete support!”