New Foster Parents Persist – and Children Thrive – with a Community of Support

Becoming a foster parent can be an emotional rollercoaster.

Many families step into fostering with open hearts and a strong desire to help children and families in need. Understandably, they may feel anxious about what lies ahead. For Alyssa and James, these nerves were magnified by five when they became Thornwell’s newest Foster Care Village foster family, willing to take five teenagers in addition to their three young biological children.

Thornwell’s Foster Care Village is an intentional community of licensed foster parents on Thornwell’s campus making use of our historic homes to meet the urgent demand to provide safe, loving homes for teens and sibling groups.

Foster care often requires an entirely new way of parenting—one grounded in empathy, patience, and trauma-informed care. Alyssa and James quickly discovered that teens’ behaviors were more about communication than defiance – shaped by loss, instability, and lack of control. Meeting emotional needs of the teens in their home was as important as meeting everyday needs.

Luckily, they weren’t left to learn this new way of life alone. Not only did they have their incredible Foster Care Family Specialist, Ken, nearby to answer questions and respond quickly when tension arose. They also had Jon and Heidi, their neighbors and fellow foster parents in the Foster Care Village!

For a new foster parent – especially one with five teenagers – a strong sense of community, access to resources and emotional support are essential. New foster parents want to know they are not alone – that the ministry of caring for the vulnerable is not theirs alone to shoulder. They need others to help them carry the load when it is heavy. That’s the beauty of Thornwell’s Foster Care Village.

Foster parents in the Foster Care Village and their many children gather weekly for tacos. It is understandably a little noisy and chaotic – but in the most beautiful way. Between fragmented conversations, parents enjoy the company of the rare few who “get it.” You can feel the palpable joy in the kids’ games of tag and scooter races, the bonds of childhood friendship.

Foster care is hard and holy work. Thornwell is incredibly grateful to Alyssa and James, and foster parents like them, who open their hearts to children.  We long for the day when every child has a safe, stable, loving home. The Foster Care Village is an innovative part of our mission –  a home for every child, a community of support for every foster parent!