Friday, 15 May 2015

Fostering Our Youth



Have you ever wondered what happens to those children and youth who get removed from their homes? The ones you often only see in movies.....

Well I can tell you that those children and youth do exist and I have the privilege of working with a few of them. These kids are probably my favourite to work with. They are little adults trapped in a child's body. Most of them had to grow up a lot faster than one should. Their childhoods have been stripped of them because of the environments they've grown up in. They have witnessed and been through things that no one should experience. They can be tough to love because their only defense mechanism is to put up a wall as a way of protecting themselves. They often push people away because it's easier than to let them into their lives and have yet another person leave again, after all everyone seems to abandon them at one point or another. Often times they can become so defiant because they aren't used to people caring so much, they are used to people walking in and out of their lives so when someone actually wants to stay and be apart of their life its foreign to them. These little human beings grow up, some go back with their mom or dad, some go live with a relative or a family friend, while others stay in Foster Care until they are eighteen years old. Some move from foster home to foster home, some get adopted (usually the younger ones) while others don't get adopted at all. One can only wonder what it does to a child to not feel wanted or that they weren't enough for their dad to stop using drugs or weren't enough for their mom to stop prostituting or for their basic needs to be met. It truly is heartbreaking to see these children hurt so much but nothing I nor anyone else can do to fill that void. They long to be with their parents, that love is so incredibly strong and unconditional it tugs at the heart. Fostering children doesn't fix the problem but it most definitely helps a child if they are put into a positive environment. The need for foster parents is high. I've spoken to some social workers who have to call the school that child attends to see if any staff members can take the child as there are no homes for him/her to go. Some of them sit at the Ministry office until the social worker can find a place for them to stay knowing they cannot go home. The need is there.

As someone who has always longed for children of my own and someone who has struggled with the thought of possibly not having that dream come true, I find myself thinking maybe I am supposed to become a mother just not the one I traditionally thought I would be. Fostering has tugged at my heart for the last 2 years. Just recently my husband and myself have started baby steps to possibly do respite work for a boy who has made a huge impact on me. I don't know what the end result will be and I am not sure if we will keep pushing forward to eventually become Foster Parents down the road but I do know that this next baby step feels right.

If you have ever thought of becoming a Foster Parent or even a Big Brother/Sister, I strongly encourage you to start the process. It's not about filling the void of their parents its about being a shinning light in their lives. The saying is true in every aspect that it takes a village to raise a child. 

Yours Truly ~TK



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