Fostering Hope

Why Fostering Hope packages?

Imagine that you are Christopher, a four-and-a-half-year-old boy. You have been moved from relative to relative for several years before entering foster care. Your speech is indecipherable because a series of untreated ear infections have left you with little hearing, though you are too young to realize this. All you know is that you are are being dropped off to live with a stranger. All you have in your possession is one pair of pants, one pair of underwear, one short-sleeved shirt (though it's winter), and a pair of shoes that are several sizes too large. You are wearing all of these items. The shelter you stayed in temporarily has given you a blanket and a coat. You carrry your blanket in a plastic grocery bag and you are off to start your new life.

Imagine that you are Diane. You are twelve years old, one of seven brothers and sisters. You and your siblings are being removed from your home becaues your stepfather abused you. You are picked up from an after school program. You don't get a chance to say good-bye to your brothers and sisters. All you have with you are the clothes you are wearing. You and your siblings are split up among four foster homes. The only thing you can call your own are your gym clothes at school.

Imagine that you are Sandy Johnson. You have been a foster parent for nine years and have just decided to become a receiving home for emergency foster care placements. Seven month old "Baby T" was just brought to your home at 2 a.m. by a social worker. Baby T arrives with two diapers, a can of formula and the T-shirt he is wearing.

These are just a few of the thousands of stories from child welfare. The goal of Fostering Hope Packages is to treat children who are entering foster care with dignity. The goal is to be able to provide each child with an appropriate bag (a backpack, gym bag or diaper bag) and something to call their own. See what other have done.