Adrienne Hollis, 34, had to leave her son, Vladislav (Vlad) Cook, two days after giving birth to him last March to continue serving a sentence at the women’s prison in Shakopee. She didn’t get to meet the Minneapolis couple who would care for her son while she was away.

Soon after Hollis returned to prison, doctors discovered Vlad had an intestinal deformation and needed immediate surgery. Hollis’ worry as a mother was compounded by the fact that she couldn’t be with her son.

She called Vlad’s caregivers, Sarah and David Hoffner, who were with him in the neonatal intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital in St. Paul. The couple are trained volunteers who provide respite or longer-term childcare for vulnerable families through a St. Paul-based nonprofit called Together for Good. Founded in the Twin Cities in 2017, the ministry works with Christian churches in Minnesota, Iowa and Texas.

Hollis said she felt an immediate connection when she spoke with Sarah Hoffner.

“I could just tell how warm and loving and caring she was, just through her phone conversations,” said Hollis, who was imprisoned for second-degree drug possession. “I was really grateful to her for stepping up and taking that role in my son’s life that he needed.”

After his surgery, Hollis saw Vlad and met the Hoffners in person. They were in frequent contact before Hollis’ Nov. 27 release from prison, a connection that has continued. Vlad has been doing fine since a second surgery when he was 3 months old, said Sarah Hoffner, 44.

The Hoffner family, including their three teenage children, have enjoyed caring for Vlad.

“He’s a joy to be around,” David Hoffner said. “He’s been a real gift to us.”

For the last six years, the Hoffners have periodically hosted children through Together for Good, with help from other members of their church, the Anglican Church of the Cross in Hopkins. They and members of other Christian churches walk alongside expectant mothers, women and families in crisis and families at risk of being separated.

“There’s an unfounded narrative that Christians only care about the unborn, that they don’t care once a child is born,” said Lucy Olson, Twin Cities director of Together for Good. “We want to disrupt that narrative through love. We have found a path, and we believe everyone can do something.”

Together for Good was founded by a pro-life mother named Maridel Sandberg, who adopted five of her eight children. She realized that with support, some mothers in crisis can build a family instead of placing their children in adoption, Olson said.

More than 30 Twin Cities churches work with Together for Good, and about 80 churches in total participate in the ministry’s three locations. Few of the churches are Catholic, but Olson said she believes Together for Good can appeal to Catholics who want to help families.

“I feel like this is so in line with the Catholic heart for the pro-life cause and for the poor that it would really be wonderful to have more of those Catholic families,” she said.

Kelly Allgaier, 64, said she and another parishioner at St. Therese in Deephaven have hosted children through Together for Good.

In 2023, Allgaier hosted the same two young siblings four times to give their mother short breaks every four to six weeks. Allgaier remembered raising her own three kids while her husband, John, now a deacon in the archdiocese, was traveling for work.

“What a treat that was for someone to keep the toddlers safe and cook dinner when I couldn’t go to the grocery store by myself,” she said. “It’s simple for me to do (now) yet could provide so much for (a mother in need).”

Her husband decided to be less involved in the hosting because of his clergy status, Kelly Allgaier said. Their four grandchildren have enjoyed playing with the children the family has helped.

The two siblings they were helping last year won’t be returning, however, because their mother is no longer in the program, Allgaier said.

“It’s really God’s plan” regarding hosting in the future, she said. “I’m there to serve, so whatever the need is, I’m open.”

In many cases, helping parents and children stay together is better than separating them, and childcare can help parents get back on their feet, she said.

Providing shorter-term services for families in crisis fills a gap in the foster care system, Olson said. In the Twin Cities alone, Together for Good receives 1,000 calls each year from doctors, hospitals, nurses, social workers, county agencies and Child Protective Services, and the organization helps about 200 families annually, Olson said.

A high percentage of the calls — almost all of them involving single mothers — come from parents facing eviction and homelessness, she said. Together for Good also helps many women in crisis pregnancies, Olson said.

“I have had women say to me I feel I don’t have a choice,” Olson said. “I have to have an abortion because I can’t care for another baby. And we say to them, ‘We want you to have a real option. If you don’t want to abort, we want you to know that we will walk alongside you and we will support you.’ We don’t want anyone to feel that they have no other option other than abortion. We want them to know that if that if they choose life, they will have support.”

Volunteers with Together for Good serve as ministry coordinators, host families, helpers of host families supplying meals, rides and other aid or occasional helpers who deliver Christmas or Easter baskets, Olson said.

Together for Good receives no government funding or grants. It serves all families and children in need, regardless of their background, Olson said.

Prospective host families supply pastor and community references. They are trained in trauma informed caregiving and given information on child abuse and cultural competency. They consent to a background check and home assessment, she said.

In addition to the Twin Cities, Together for Good has partners in Rochester, several central Iowa cities and churches in Waco, Texas. The organization has received requests about their services from around the country and would like to expand, Olson said.

Hollis said she is now transitioning to an apartment. While she looks forward to having Vlad with her, she isn’t ending her relationship with the Hoffners, whose care helps fill a void in her life of having no family nearby, she said.

Working with the Hoffners and Together for Good “has been the most amazing experience I think I’ve ever I’ve ever had,” Hollis said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”