Limited VolunteerThe seeds of Samara were sown in the 1980s, when Jean Heigel was a foster parent and Pam Haddad, her daughter, was a child abuse investigator. In working with many troubled families, both Jean and Pam learned that children and parents desired to live together as family, but struggled to create a healthy home environment in which everyone could grow. They wanted to help families heal, and found that in order to create a safe environment for children, they had to first create a safe environment for parents.
Although there was an important intellectual aspect to the process, the larger work was emotional and relational. In the 1990s, Jean and Pam came together to create a parenting curriculum that focused on the health and well-being of parents as the primary caregivers of their children. They noticed that when parents were nurtured, accepted unconditionally, and treated respectfully, the parents carried the respect they were given to their children.