Wake Up Call | Foster Care Awareness Month
Did you know that today there are nearly 400,000 children (enough to fill FIVE Super Bowl Stadiums) in foster care in the United States?
Nearly 100,000 of those beloved children are waiting for forever families. Those numbers feel overwhelming. The problems of foster care fill me with such anxiety because they appear unsolvable. It’s a powerful wake-up call to act NOW. Together, we are the solution! If one family in every church in America fostered, there would be more than enough beds for every child in foster care.
I alone cannot solve the complex and systemic challenges of the child welfare system. I can barely solve simple problems some days. If I set out to save every child on my own, I am set up to fail. But I can play my part—and you can too! So often, people just don’t know where to start. Because my own words seem inadequate, here are three quotes from social worker and researcher Brene Brown to guide you this month.
“The universe is not short on wake-up calls. We’re just quick to hit the snooze button.” ― Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
Children and families in your community are struggling and need resources and support. We cannot remain oblivious to the pain in our communities, even when we would prefer to turn a blind eye. Keep your eyes and ears open to what’s going on. Learn about the issues impacting your neighbors. And let it wake you up to reality – you are needed just as you are today. Don’t hit the snooze button.
“Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.” ― Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
Kids need homes and families, and they need average people like you and me. Show up with your kindness, compassion, and care. But it’s okay to show up for foster care with your messy bun and unorganized pantry, too. You are not expected to be perfect. Kids need you to show up just as you are. Show up scared, show up nervous, show up with questions. I promise you that these young people are far more frightened than you are. They are more nervous. They are sitting in so much uncertainty, and they have no choice. You get to be the adult that bravely sits with them in this hard season.
“We don’t have to do all of it alone. We were never meant to.” ― Brené Brown, Rising Strong
As a foster parent, I need you to show up for me, too. I need you to relieve the burden of caring for children and families impacted by trauma. I need some families to step up to foster – to meet needs that I cannot meet, to welcome children into their homes when my home (and my heart) is at capacity. I need other families to wrap around me and the children in my home – to show up with a few snacks and a lot of grace. We were never meant to do life alone, and this life of foster care is extra challenging. Step into our lives and walk alongside us!
This Foster Care Awareness Month, let us consider the role we can play in caring for those impacted by foster care. Let’s come alongside the helpers; they are likely weary. More than anything, let us consider how we can come alongside the children and families impacted by foster care. The problems seem overwhelming, and the work is hard, but TOGETHER, we can make a difference.
Kaley Lindquist,
Thornwell Program Marketing and Recruitment Specialist
To learn more visit Foster Care Awareness Month – Thornwell – Building Tomorrow’s Families