Community Blog Archives by Date Blog
During Reunification Month, we celebrate the hard work and dedication of our community and social workers to help struggling families overcome the variety of challenges they face. Thanks to the support of her case manager, family and her own determination, Reba is an amazing mom who was reunified with her two daughters in October 2020. Take a moment and listen to Reba's inspiring story.
There is no doubt that we live in a community that cares! This past Saturday, our community partner,
LoBo Ranch, hosted a Ranch Recharge for foster families!
IN THIS EDITION:
- Tamora Boatwright, Michelle O'Connor, Katie Davis, Tangela Coleman, Abigail Workman, Marnell Brown, Andrea McNulty, Shuntia Hamilton, Pamela Pierce, Rachelle Louis and Vanessa Young at Devereux
- Christian Sanchez and Jenesis Jackson at One Hope United
- Sheltanya Owens and Raquel Martell at Children's Home Society
It's June and we're celebrating #ReunificationMonth and Amber is one of our local parents who is a true success story! With the help of relationships and local providers, Amber has overcome many challenges including addiction and tragic loss. This month Amber was reunified with her children and shares her story to encourage other families that with love and support they can also overcome! Take a moment to listen to her story.
My wife, Joy-Lynn and I became Foster Parent Mentors (FPM) through Heartland for Children in 2012. When we were approached with the opportunity to be an added support for incoming Foster Parents, we jumped at the opportunity because we saw the value in having someone who other Foster Parents could relate to as being an invaluable resource; especially, if the individual(s) were completely new to the fostering and/or parenting experience.
As FPMs through Heartland, we've had the chance to interact with incoming Foster Parents on many levels including assisting with respite, providing guidance or best practices with difficult behavioral issues, advocating for a child who had to be moved from one home to another, making recommendations on working with case management, providing another vantage point through the process of Termination of Parental Rights (TPR), and many other areas that Foster Parents can encounter during their first and continuing years of child advocates.
What we've gained as FPMs is a heightened level of understanding of how important it is to identify the needs of incoming Foster Parents. Being able to make recommendations on how the training component has and can continue to successfully equip incoming parents with the proper training and education; is a value add that Heartland has really welcomed input on.
Cebien Alty - HFC Foster Parent, Foster Parent Mentor