338937124_c6dfbcf7bb_oA foster child is defined as a child looked after temporarily or brought up by people other than his or her natural or adoptive parents. The most important word in that sentence is child. When you think about the current state of our country, it’s easy to be overwhelmed because there are so many problems to solve. Feeding the hungry, helping the mentally ill and getting our citizens out of poverty are just a few issues that come to mind. Where does a person start to make our world a better place? It all begins with seeing the world through a child’s eyes. It begins with foster adoption in Shasta County.

Kids are the hope of our future.

The best resolutions for the world’s problems come from those who struggle the hardest. A hungry boy understands how hard it is to sleep when his belly is empty; if, through foster adoption, he is given a family who takes away his hunger pangs, he might grow up and make sure that the homeless youths in his community are fed each day. A neglected girl understands what it’s like to cry alone when she’s afraid; if given a home with everything she needs, she might grow up to open a counseling center for abused children. A child who can focus on science class instead of a broken heart might grow up to cure some of our world’s diseases.

Kids need parents.

Stop and think for a moment about a child, a nine year-old girl, who has woken up in three different beds in the last two weeks. She’s been bounced around from place to place for most of her life. She never has a place to settle and call her own. All she wants is a place where she feels safe and cared for. Her own place at the dinner table. Instead, she continues to move from one group home to another for a few more years because there aren’t enough foster parents in Northern California. Days turn into years, and the little girl that’s now grown doesn’t have the same social skills or emotional foundation that many of us take for granted. She’s never known what it’s like to have someone there for her. She wasn’t tucked into bed at night as a child. No one listened to her hopes and dreams, and no one ever heard her ideas about world peace. Sadly, this isn’t a short, unfamiliar story. For many children, it’s a reality.

Kids just need a chance.

Children who grow up without loving guidance and positive reassurance are more likely to experience drug addiction, homelessness and incarceration throughout their lifetimes. It’s devastating to think that someone could experience all of these things just because he or she didn’t have an opportunity to thrive. Children who end up in the fostercare system through no fault of their own are the ones who pay the biggest price. The only thing that foster children need is to be given a chance. A chance to show that they’re worth knowing and loving. It will change not only the rest of their lives, but yours, too. You can provide peace and security to a child who hasn’t experienced it before. Imagine how such a simple gesture could change a life.

While donations to foster placement organizations are critical, the only real solution is to donate your time, love and energy to a child or children who need a place to blossom and grow while they heal from their broken pasts. Open your home to a child in need and show them that they matter. Consider foster adoption in Shasta County.

Author: Children First FFA

Published: January 29, 2016

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