Meet Nikki Madden

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Madden.

Hi Nikki, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I began this journey as a nonprofit business owner in 2018 because I was placed in a position where I needed extreme help yet had nowhere to turn. For some reason, instead of thinking about my situation, I immediately thought of another single-family or family unit that could be in the same position I was in but truly unaware of what to do.

Over the next ten months, I collected information on a plethora of community resources, contacted various nonprofit organizations that could benefit our “future” clientele, built a rapport with fellow organizations, created a website, and created a brilliant Board of Directors. Before long, families started to call who needed assistance with furniture, escaping domestic violence, getting their child(ren) back from DCS, clothing, etc. A couple of other board members and I started seeing clients on a regular basis, and before we knew it, Lali’s Foundation For Families In A Crisis was officially born!

These last three years, we have been blessed with the opportunity of being housed at a local church. We have formed various programs to fit our client’s needs, such as wrap-around services, extended resources, and advocacy support. Our numbers began to climb, and as of late, we have helped over 1,900 families! Fortunately, we have been producing very little advertisement, as all of our clients are by word of mouth. We have helped clients who were in countless and various crises. They range from needing groceries, clothes/shoes, furniture, job search assistance, financial support for bills and other living expenses, and homelessness intervention.

As an organization, we have learned that over 85% of our clients are domestic violence victims/survivors, with 5% having to flee their situation and hide. We have also participated in helping Asylum Seekers with clothing/shoes, & any other resources needed. Our many programs make it easy for us to identify what type of service is in the best interest of each family unit. A month ago, the church we were housed at closed its gates, and we have had to transition to alternative ways of assisting our families.

Even though this HUGE obstacle is in front of us, it is exactly that: an obstacle. Right now is a challenging time period for our organization, but we are running fundraisers, accommodating clients by staying in contact and continued support, and reaching out to whomever we can connect with to help guide us in the direction of obtaining our own space once again. Our motto is “Where Hope Is Restored”.

We not only believe it, but we also live it.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Running a business is not always a “smooth road”; yet, I believe there are times when your momentum is moving forward, and then it slows down. We are actually going through a challenging stage, right now! Since 2021, Lali’sFFC was housed on campus of Central United Methodist Church. We were so excited to began a partnership with them!

Together, we assisted with the Asylum Seekers for three months. We helped over 200 families a week by offering them backpacks, clothes, shoes, pampers, formula, undergarments, coats, etc. Additionally, we helped our clients. Various orphanages from Mexico & Venezuela, and the community. They truly helped us to create a foundation for being a functional nonprofit organization.

About a month ago, we were informed that after 154 years, the church was closing its gates for good. Unfortunately, that meant that we had to close our doors, too. We had 3 weeks to move our office and M.J.’s Boutique & Supply Closet… except we had no where to go! Instantly, we had to inform our clients of the news. We encouraged them to grab available resources and furniture.

All of our clients were sympathetic and understanding. During this time, whenever a client calls and is in need of assistance, we provide them with contact information of other organization. Some of our clients have been receptive, while others opted to wait until we can accommodate them. That is an obstacle in itself. We decided, as a company to place all of our donated items in a storage unit, and operate LalisFFC out of my home.

We have now turned our attention to obtaining grants, hosting/running fundraisers, and reaching out to others who can help us get a location. We have a goal and a mission. Our goal is to help the ENTIRE family unit out of their chronic situation. Our mission is to provide families with advocacy support so they can become self-sufficient.

Once word gets out that we are “back in business,” reaching our goal, standing firm with our mission, and the phone lines will not stop. Regardless of whether we are working out of a storefront, at a local eatery cafe shop, or at a secret location, we WILL overcome this obstacle.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. What can you tell our readers who might not be as familiar with your work?
LalisFFC is known to help families and their children through the toughest times of their life. Some of our clients come to us already homeless, some are trying to prevent themselves from becoming displaced, and some are attempting to flee from their domestic violence situation.

We specialize in keeping families together and offering an alternative path to sustainability. Due to our approach and style, we have helped over 1,900 families! That is something I am truly proud of! We are a small nonprofit organization working in the trenches and providing over and above services to our clients.

I believe what sets us apart are the following:

*Clients in our programs are required to have monthly contact. During this time, we introduce them to our main method of assistance, which provides them with an alternative path to sustainability. There are forms to complete their file, but we also focus on goal setting. It has been shown to us that this type of method helps our clients reprioritize what’s going on in their lives. So many of our clients have never set goals, which is shocking. It showed us how beneficial this is to our families.

*We like to follow up with clients, or as we call it “Checking In”, In doing so, we discovered so many of our past clients lost our number and needed help, or was in a crisis. Depending on our caseload and the severity of their case, we were able to reactivate them and get the help they needed.

*In the six years of our existence, all of our clients and people contacting us have been word of mouth.

When we work with our families, it makes them feel good knowing that not only are we there for them as an advocate support team, but many of us working with the families have walked the paths they have. It truly shows them how dedicated we are to helping them. We’re able to provide “tough love” when appropriate and make sure the families understand how to pick their lives back up.

We’re always looking for lessons that can be learned from any situation, including tragic ones like the COVID-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
During the COVID-19 crisis, we as a society learned interesting and important lessons. We learned how to focus on the importance of personal hygiene & cleanliness, being considerate of others if you become sick, and focus on the importance of medical health checks.

While Covid was running rampant, we thought it would be a good idea to post updates, notices, and videos. Some of the volunteers we had helping us were certified Nurses. They were able to help us create informative videos for our community, regarding Covid-19 and also heat relief.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lalisffc.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lalisffc/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lalisffc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalisffcrestoringhope
• Twitter: https://x.com/FfcLalis