Our Team
Each member of our team is a vital part of our movement and together we are actively involved in building our volunteer base, connecting to local church partners, providing support and supervision for Hosting and Support Friend arrangements, and sharing the gospel with families through relationships.
Lanna Blanchard, Founder and Executive Director of Family Hope, has served in various leadership roles in the field of adoption, foster care, and family preservation. Together with her husband Tim, Lanna has also ministered as Cru staff at Purdue University, UCLA, and Chicago’s inner city project. They feel blessed to have had the opportunity to adopt five precious children from Korea and are absolutely crazy about their four grandbabies! Lanna is passionate about partnering with churches to empower vulnerable, hurting families with the power of the gospel and to serve every parent and child with dignity and honor, in the redemptive name of Jesus. Lanna enjoys walking while listening to many favorite podcasts that spur her on to love God and love people deeply; she will never tire of hearing testimonies of how the Lord transforms lives like nothing else can. A Bible verse her two younger brothers shared with her that resulted in her decision to follow Christ when she was a sophomore at Indiana University is 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
Lanna Blanchard
Executive Director
Jayla is married to her husband Loovensky and they have two sons. Jayla received her bachelor's degree in Urban Ministry from the College of Biblical Studies. Prior to joining the Family Hope team she served at a church helping to oversee the outreach ministry. In their free time her family loves all things sports and Jayla is always eager to try a latte from a new coffee shop. One of her favorite verses is found in Acts 20:24 which says, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."
Amanda and her husband Jon have been married for over 10 years. Before starting their family, Amanda worked as a fourth grade teacher. When their first son was born, she changed careers to be a stay at home mom. The Lord has blessed the Halls with three energetic children and they attend Connection Point Christian Church in Brownsburg. In what little free time Amanda has, she enjoys crafting and doing small home decorating projects. Parenting and adulting and kidding is hard! Amanda relies heavily on her support system and her heart aches for those who haven't experienced Christ's love in this way. The entire family looks forward to hosting and spending time loving on little ones and coming alongside mamas to show them that the body of Christ is vast and strong and essential. One of Amanda's favorite Bible verses is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 13, "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is Love."
Amanda Hall
Support Coach Specialist
Brooke is a Louisiana native and graduated from LSU with her degree in Business/Marketing. After working in Sales and Recruiting in Louisiana and Texas, the Lord began to stir her heart for full time ministry and call her away from her career. She followed the Lord's lead and served as a missionary in Chiang Mai, Thailand for 2 years. Thereafter, she was led to Calvary Chapel Bible College in Indiana where she is currently enrolled in classes. She is passionate about seeing others come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior as well as helping build community around those in need. Brooke enjoys walking and hiking, reading, and seeing new places. One of Brooke's favorite Bible verses is Ephesians 1:6, "to the praise of the glory of HIS grace, by which HE made us accepted in the Beloved."
Brooke LeBlanc
Support Coach Specialist
Laura has been married to Dave for over 20 years and they have three teenagers. After getting her degree in Social Work, Laura worked in the foster care system as a case manager. Since that time, her heart for seeing families strengthened before abuse or neglect occurs has only deepened. It is a privilege for her to see first-hand the ways in which the Church is called and equipped to circle around families facing crisis. Laura enjoys camping and hiking with her family, throwing pots on the pottery wheel, and long walks with good friends. Her favorite verse is Isaiah 43:18-19, “ Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Laura Mann
Support Coach Supervisor
Tina is married to Jeff and they have six children together in their blended family. Tina earned her bachelor's degree from Purdue University in Child Development and Family Services as well as a master's degree in Social Work from IUPUI. She has owned and operated her own business for 20 years. Tina has previously worked as a Child Life Specialist at Riley Children's Hospital, and walked alongside many patients and families in difficult times. Recently, she has volunteered at Open Doors Food Pantry, as well as at Brookside CDC; Tina also served with Sweet Water, through Family Hope. As a result, her heart for walking with women and children in need has grown much stronger. She feels it is a true privilege to support and wrap around families with love and support, and truly feels it is a blessing to be a blessing! Tina enjoys spending time with her family and time in nature to enjoy God's beautiful creation. One of Tina's favorite Bible verses that she holds dear to her heart is, Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord, with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths."
Tina Snethen
Support Coach Specialist
Lindy and her husband Kyle have been married for over 5 years and attend Pennington Park Church. After getting her degree in Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Lindy worked at Liberty University in the Social Work Department while working towards her Masters in Human Services Counseling: Crisis Response & Trauma. Over the past few years, Lindy's heart for family preservation has grown as she has worked with at-risk youth and families. Lindy enjoys arts and crafts of any kind, playing board and card games, as well as spending time with family and friends. Her favorite verse is 2 Timothy 1:7, "...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."
Lindy Somers
Community Engagement
Amy, her husband Matthew, and their 4 children attend Antioch Church. Amy is a homeschooling mama with a background in Elementary Education and has served in a variety of community needs. Currently, she teaches at their co-op and church while also teaching pitching lessons and running her kiddos all over to their activities. Amy and Matthew love that they can serve both overseas and in our local community by just being willing to say a simple yes. They have been longtime supporters of family preservation and have served in various Family Hope roles including hosting children, coaching parents, and supporting families in need. Amy is always up for a relatable book or movie but really loves gathering her people around a fire or good meal to share time together. One of her favorite passages is Philippians 2:1-4. Amy shares, “It reminds me all too often that as I strive to achieve and help that I need to be mindful of being ‘of the same mind, have the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.’"
Cindy and her husband, Dennis, have been married 45 years and have 2 adult children and 5 grandchildren. She holds a degree in Social Services and worked 19 years teaching and supporting families in W. Africa. Prior to coming to Family Hope, she worked in case management and with young moms at Shepherd Community Center. She and her husband love being outdoors, hiking, exploring, riding quads, and spending time with their kids, grandkids and friends. She also loves worship music, movies, reading, listening to Graham Cooke podcasts, Thai and Vietnamese food and chai lattes. One of her favorite verses is Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit".
Cindy Westlake
Johnson County Area Coordinator
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What If...
We could stop child abuse before it starts?
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Children could be protected during times of crisis without entering the child welfare system?
Parents could ask for help without fear of losing custody of their children?
Single parents were connected to support instead of socially isolated?
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Non-profits, churches, and volunteers worked together to help families in need?
Family Hope
is a collaboration of area churches providing supportive relationships for vulnerable families. We are a Christian, non-profit operating through our team of trained and vetted volunteers who offer temporary hosting of children, connections and guidance for parents, and a bridge to family stability.
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OUr mission
is to bring hope to families through caring, connective relationships formed in the redemptive love of Jesus by providing a CHURCH-LED, PREVENTATIVE, DOUBLE-VOLUNTARY model of care.
After a referral is received by our intake Hope Line and determined to be an appropriate fit, our team works quickly to match the families with volunteers who have been recruited from local churches and have been thoroughly screened, trained, and approved with multiple background checks, fingerprinting, references, and a home evaluation.
Families may request a Host Family for an overnight stay or day-time hosting or a Support Friend to help with non-hosting needs such as transportation assistance or mentoring. A Support Coach is assigned to each arrangement and works with parents to meet measurable goals while also closely monitoring children in volunteer care.
Watch this video to hear what hope means to our volunteers and Family Hope parents!
Watch our new animated video detailing the ministry of Family Hope!
Watch Kalonna's powerful testimony and see generosity impacting lives through Family Hope!
Our Sweet Water Team provides a Circle of Support to moms who have been served through Family Hope by connecting with them through group fellowship and one-on-one mentoring. To learn more about Sweet Water, meeting times, and volunteer opportunities, visit their website!
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