If I were to show you this picture and say "these poor abandoned puppies need your help" my post would get liked and shared and people would fall out of the woodwork to help.
In my county alone there are almost 650 children of all ages, all genders, all ethnic groups drifting along in foster care. On the other end of the spectrum there are approximately 100 available foster homes for these kids. DO THE MATH!!!
Is it any wonder that the available homes and families are experiencing extreme emotional "burnout". Can you imagine having 6 foster children in your home and getting a call EVERY DAY asking if you can take a child. These people are running on empty with very little help. How frustrating this must be to WANT to help so badly and just know that you have reached the breaking point.
There are single children and sibling groups entering foster care DAILY. They are all different but they share a common experience. Through no fault of their own they are "homeless." By homeless I mean they have been removed from the only home they have known where there were one or two adults who were supposed to be responsible for them. Adults who should have been making sure they were clean, fed, rested, talked to, cared for, and motivated. Loved. Exactly what did these kids do to deserve the life they are living. Nothing. Not.One.Damn.Thing. Unfortunately, because we are talking about human children, I can't show you actual faces or tell you the actual horror stories they have endured.
Their "privacy" is protected. They are nameless, faceless little balls of clay who are being molded for a lifetime by what life is throwing at them today. Some of them already have a sickening feeling that adults can't be trusted. Can't be depended on. Are hurtful, selfish, and in some cases in real crisis themselves. They cannot take care of themselves, much less a child.
AND
Eventually "someone" intervenes....and a child starts a new journey.
This picture too is deceptive. Most of these kids leave their "homes" will a few possessions in a trash sack. When this happens, they have no idea where they are going. Chances are they will not only be leaving people they know and animals they enjoy, they will be leaving a school they've attended and friends they've developed. If they have siblings, they are hoping that at the very least they won't lose that connection as well. Worst of all.........they are terrified. They are leaving...........for what?
Ideally, they will find a soft place to land. A place where there is kindness, patience, understanding and responsibility. A place of love.
But, sometimes.....there is no such place available and they are forced to stay with a case worker in a place like this. This would make ME feel better. How about you? Yeah, I didn't think so. I'm sure this does little to alleviate the feelings of insecurity and fear.
What works in making people care enough to MOVE? If you could replace the word dog with CHILD in this photo and put a child in that cage - would that tug at your heart strings?
We are not all CALLED to foster, but we are all called to CARE. There are so many ways you can help that take little time and few resources. Organizations in support of the foster care system are always looking for diapers, wipes, suitcases, backpacks, prepared meals for existing families, gift cards, and donations. I truly believe that if everyone would just allow themselves to see the true face of the foster care crisis there would be nothing that could stop you from getting involved.
There is a lot being done on the front side of children in danger but the resources and help on the back end are woefully lacking. The same government that protects these kids by making it possible to remove them from harmful situations also makes opening foster homes incredibly hard and time consuming. Children are entering the system faster than homes can be provided for them. What is the solution?
I urge you to seek out a local organization that works in support of foster care and ask what you can do to help. You might be surprised at how very little it takes. Involve your church, your workplace, your friends, even organization that you are involved with outside of any of these other areas. Hold a diaper drive, make a commitment to provide a foster family with one meal a week. Attend the fundraisers that are held locally to raise money for foster care support.
This should be our goal - nothing but happy kids. Not just those we know and love personally. All of them. Everywhere. Everyday. If you want to have a kinder gentler society you need to nurture those qualities in the young.
2 comments:
My family fostered when I was a teenager. They treated the foster daughters just like they treated my sister and I. That isn't always the case. One of the girls who lived with us was with us because her previous foster father was molesting her and her sister. This is supposed to be a safe place for these kids but doesn't always turn out that way. I also have had the privilege of knowing a young lady who was in foster care in her late teens. She was separated from her siblings. Her foster home was anything but wonderful for her. Natural children were favored and the foster children were treated as a workforce and an income stream to a couple who had no other source of income. She turned her life around, went to college and gathered here siblings up and made a family. She is one of the small percentage who come out of this experience in a favorable way. Please help. Not everyone can be a foster parent but everyone can help a foster child.
Thank you for your comment. I think the key here is supporting the organizations that are driven to opening good, safe and careful foster homes as opposed to just any old home will do. There are so many horror stories from days gone by both on the side of foster children AND foster families that the stigma is difficult to overcome. Fortunately, the homes I am seeing open up are usually working parents with some kids of their own who honestly do not do it for the money. The mindset I am witnessing is "if I don't do this what will happen to these children." And the ones I am seeing are doing it well for all concerned. It would be so nice if we could dig out the root of this problem and eliminate it but that will never happen. I want to see this "fixed" by individuals as opposed to more governmental involvement because all that will happen in that case is these children will be warehoused in orphanages again and that is a difficult hill to climb and conquer. Thanks again!!
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