This is one of a series of stories about the nonprofit agencies that receive money from The Gazette/El Pomar Foundation Empty Stocking Fund campaign that runs through Jan. 20.

There are two agencies in the Colorado Springs area that work hard to support the youngest members of our communities and their families.

Peak Vista and Lutheran Family Services have specific programs channeled toward helping this population and do so collaboratively.

“We’ve worked with them for as long as I’ve been with the Respite Center,” Traci Hearne, Director of the KPC Respite Center, said of the First Visitor Program at Peak Vista.

Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains is a “faith based, nonprofit human service agency” that helps people during their hardest times. They are home to the KPC Respite Center, which, according to its website, “offers temporary crisis and planned childcare for infants and young children at no cost to parents or guardians. This program has been open to families since 2004 and has provided hundreds of families with relief and support.”

Peak Vista, is a nonprofit that provides top medical, behavioral and dental care for anyone in need. Peak Vista is home to the First Visitor program. The First Visitor program provides free, one-on-one support for moms and dads in their home. They provide emotional support, connect parents and caregivers with free resources and share information on health, nutrition, safety and developmental milestones.

“The need is so great,” Hearne said. “We see it because we come in contact with these families.” Hearne explained that they serve close to 80 children and 45 families each month and there are still some they are unable to help as they fill up. Some of the families are really in crisis and need support.

“Peak Vista, they are able to come in contact with families that meet the criteria for our services,” Hearne said.

Debbie Cain, family support liaison for the First Visitor program at Peak Vista, has been involved with the program since 1992. She said that the idea was to provide universal access and that the support should come from volunteers instead of nurses.

“You didn’t have to meet financial criteria,” Cain said. “It was [for] anybody realizing that parenting is probably the hardest job in the world and the one we are least prepared for.”

Over time, the program evolved and serves any parent with a child under 3 with no other criteria.

“We can provide that huge range of support to families depending on their needs,” Cain said.

Cain said that 13 years ago when funding posed a challenge for the program, their best chance to survive was to partner with a separate nonprofit.

“Peak Vista rose to the challenge and said what a perfect blend for what we’re trying to do to support our pediatric families,” Cain said.

Cain said that with so many referrals, one of the biggest issues is that mothers can become so overwhelmed when they need help.

“We try to connect them with KPC Respite for the support they need,” Cain said. This allows children to have care if the mother needs to travel for different appointments and know that children will be cared for.