Helping Families Navigate a Child’s Medical Crisis with Care

Liam Mateo arrived prematurely, weighing just a few pounds, and his parents were thrust into a world of feeding tubes, monitors, and ventilators at a Bay Area children’s hospital. They had no time to think about anything except Liam’s next milestone. A week after his birth, There With Care reached out and immediately lifted a weight from his family’s shoulders. The nonprofit provided daily items that were sorely needed but overlooked: groceries, toiletries, cleaning supplies, gas cards, and more.

Because of There With Care’s support, Liam’s parents could remain at his bedside without making impossible choices. “You don’t realize how much a bottle of dish soap or a single toothbrush saves you money,” his mother wrote. “Money we needed for gas to visit our baby. Thanks to There With Care, our family never had to choose between basic household items and precious visits to the hospital.”

For 14 years, There With Care has been delivering vital relief and support to families like Liam’s, families facing the unimaginable: a child’s medical crisis. By the end of March 2026, the organization had supported 4,625 families. The model is straightforward and game-changing: social workers at hospitals like Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford, and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital – San Francisco refer families with a critically-ill child. When a referral comes in, support begins within a week. No income requirements, no waiting list – only care and compassion. Approximately 90 percent of the families served fall below the federal poverty line. 

“Once a family is referred to us, we immediately surround them with a network of community and care to help ease the burden of life’s day-to-day challenges,” says Kathy Hansen Sweeney, Executive Director. 

More Families Needing More Support

Each week deliveries are made by specially trained volunteers to roughly 70 families. Volunteers prepare the care packages themselves with handwritten notes inside. “These notes are a small gesture, but one that means so much,” says Kendra Wehmeyer, Director of Development. “Families know there are people who are thinking about them, people who truly care.” One mother, upon opening a Mother’s Day gift basket said, “I felt seen and cared for, as moms often get lost in the shuffle.”

This year the need has only intensified. Inflation has lifted the price of gas, groceries and rent past what most parents in crisis can afford, creating even more demand for There With Care of the Bay Area’s support. 

There With Care’s funding depends on community and corporate generosity. Although its cost per family has increased significantly, There With Care
does not turn anyone away. Next year marks the 15th anniversary and the milestone of the 5,000th family it has stood beside as they continue to provide relief, support, and the reassurance that no family has to navigate their hardest days alone.