Foster
parents often feel tired and alone. Most families foster for less than a year,
citing burnout and lack of support as the reason they stop. When foster
families are not sustained, this creates more instability for children who are
already vulnerable. At the same time, 85 percent of people who do not foster
say they care about vulnerable children and want to help.
Together,
we can bridge the gap between the community that wants to help and foster
families and caregivers, so the practical needs of foster families can be met,
and holistic support is provided beyond the system.
Children in foster care have historically been bounced from place to place with extraordinarily little priority given to the 'felt safety' of the environments they are put in. Due to the crisis nature of their circumstances, most of these children spend their waiting times in sterile, institutional-feeling offices and transitional spaces that only add further trauma. What we know from child development and trauma-informed care, though, is that environments that are designed especially for these children are critical in reducing the amount of stress they endure during these difficult transitions.
But what if there was a place, a home-like haven that was a refuge during the in-between for all?
A place where a child can go with their new foster/kinship family to play in the background, have cookies with the staff, and pick out the things they need while the family learned about the resources in the area and have a place to process the overwhelming first few moments of having a new child in their home? How might that breathe security and hope into the hearts of these precious children?
Foster
Village Waco launched in the Fall of 2018 with the hope of existing at the
intersection of where foster families and the greater McLennan County community
meet. Since that date, we have checked-in hundreds of registrants to our
support events. Our volunteers have delivered critical necessities to foster,
kinship, and reunifying families from our Care Closet located at a local
storage facility. Foster Village Waco leadership is committed to opening a
Resource Center this year.
This Resource Center will serve as a hub of support
for families involved in foster care in McLennan County as well as a place for
community members and businesses to find their unique way of serving our foster
care community.
Our child-friendly, trauma-informed Resource Center will be a home to our Support Gatherings, therapeutic workshops, partner meetings, a sensory-informed play studio, and a neutral space for special visitations, and easily accessible basic necessities. Like our current Care Closet, it will be stocked by the community with items for children entering foster care and available at no charge to caregivers. When children visit our resource center, they will immediately know that it is their place.
Building anything starts with a firm foundation of support. We are asking you to be that for families in McLennan County. With your dependable monthly support as our foundation, we can move forward in acquiring a building for our Resource Center.
Your financial contribution will cover expenses such as:
Building mortgage or lease payments
Building maintenance
Modifications that may need to be made
TBRI trained staff
Insurance
Administrative support costs
Your
support makes sure foster families and children have their basic needs met,
connects foster families to resources and to each other and advocates for
change in the system, creating a better future for our community, our children
and the caregivers who raise them. You can
bring dignity to those in foster care and empower generations of vulnerable
families to overcome adversity.
