CULLMAN, Ala. – The Link of Cullman County celebrated its accreditation and membership in the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers on Friday, Sept. 25.
Executive Director Melissa Betts said there were many moving parts on the journey to becoming a Family Resource Center.
“I started at the Link on Feb. 1, 2020. It’s funny now, but then, I didn’t know until a few weeks later that our world would look very different,” Betts said. “The story of how we got here to become a Family Resource Center: We don’t call people clients, we call people neighbors. Long before I knew anything about FRCs, and back when I first started — the term they used instead of ‘client’ was ‘neighbor.’ That was a term I knew — it was modeled to me through my parents, my community and my church — the neighbor who is struggling, and might be messy. That neighbor needs to be loved and supported and know that they don’t have to figure it out by themselves. When I heard the term ‘neighbor’ used (at) the Link, something felt right for me.”
For Betts, a “neighbor” meant a relationship, and a “client” meant a transaction. She said becoming a Family Resource Center means being a community and statewide resource for neighbors.
“It’s not the work of one person, it’s a community connection,” she said. “We have been serving Cullman County since 2013, but over the past year we have been intentionally working toward becoming an accredited Family Resource Center and joining the Alabama Network Family Resource Centers.”
Betts said the Family Resource Center movement in Alabama has a much longer history.
“Marsha Folsom helped establish Alabama’s first Family Resource Center in the 1990s while her husband, Jim Folsom Jr., was governor,” she explained. “She recognized that families across Alabama needed places where they could access coordinated resources and support through trusted organizations in their own communities.”
Betts shared a quote from Helen Keller she said she feels represents The Link: “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much!”
She said this is an important milestone for The Link because becoming an accredited Family Resource Center validates the comprehensive, family-centered work they have been building in Cullman County.
“Families rarely experience needs in isolation,” Betts said. “A family that comes to us needing food may also be struggling with housing, employment, parenting, education or recovery. The Family Resource Center model allows us to look at the whole family, connect them with the right resources and help them move from an immediate crisis toward long-term stability.”
There are now 28 Family Resource Centers across Alabama.
“The Link is now the 28th, with several additional centers expected to join the network before the end of 2026,” Betts continued. “We are very proud for Cullman County to be part of this growing statewide network. We want this to be both a celebration and an opportunity for our community to better understand what becoming a Family Resource Center means for Cullman County. Representatives from the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers will join us, along with community leaders, partners, supporters staff and volunteers.”
Most importantly, she said, they want participants to see how the many services offered through The Link work together.
“Our goal isn’t simply to address one immediate need,” Betts said. “We want families to have a place where they can build connections, find stability, strengthen their families and discover opportunities for long-term growth. For me, this accreditation is really about what comes next. The Link has grown tremendously since it was founded in 2013, and becoming an accredited Family Resource Center gives us a strong framework for the next chapter. We believe strong communities begin with strong families. Our vision is to see strong families growing and leading in the region for generations to come. Becoming Alabama’s 28th Family Resource Center is another important step toward making that vision a reality. ‘Where neighbors become family’ — this is the new slogan for The Link. It marries the past to the future. We are so excited for our future.”
Find out more about The Link and its services at www.linkingcullman.org.
