Connection Newsletter OCTOBER 2013

Waiting...

by Jennifer Knight, Director Forever Homes

As you read this, there are more than six hundred children in the permanent custody of Cuyahoga County.  These children are in foster homes, or group homes, and they are waiting . . . waiting for one of two possible outcomes.  Behind door number one lies adoption – a forever family; unconditional love; a safety net; a place to call home; somewhere to go at Christmas.  Behind door number two lies the streets – “emancipation”; homelessness; unemployment; untreated mental health and addiction; early parenthood; arrest and incarceration.

 

Unfortunately, for up to 200 foster kids a year, door number one is locked.  And these 200 only represent Cuyahoga County – when we consider the state and the nation, these numbers grow exponentially.  Their foster families, for whatever reason, do not intend to them, or they are placed in group homes now, and staying isn’t an option.  As these kids approach 18, most other families aren’t willing to consider adopting them either.  It is intimidating to consider bringing a 17 year old in to your home.

 

Sometimes, the kids decide it’s not worth it, or are told not to bother.  I spoke with a young man last week who aged out of foster care several years ago.  He is the exception, in that he has been able to build a life for himself outside the system, but when you talk to him, he will tell you he always wanted to be adopted – he’d still be adopted now if he could.  When I asked him if he knew why he hadn’t been, he explained that one of his case workers had told him that he was getting too close to 18, so there wasn’t any point in being adopted any more.

 

Can you imagine being told that there’s no point to having a family?  No point to being loved, and safe and secure?  There is a point.  There is always a point to being loved and cared for.  God has shown us that by adopting us in to his family –not because we were worthy, or because we deserved it, or because we appeared to be young and cute and manageable.  He did it because He loved us, and because He knew how desperately we needed Him.

 

We have the ability in a very tangible way to show these waiting children that they are worthy, and they are loved, and it’s not about what they’ve done, or where they’ve come from, or what struggles they’ve had.  It’s because they are His, and He loves them.  And He has called us to care for them in His name.

 

Maybe one of these waiting children is waiting for you.  Will you open the door?

 

If you, or someone you know would like more information please contact Jennifer Knight at Forever Home Adoptions.

 

www.foreverhomeadoptions.com

 

Jennifer@foreverhomeadoptions.com

 

440-382-9843

 

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Community Ambassadors is a Christ-centered, compassion-driven nonprofit organization committed to promoting and facilitating greater collaboration in order to effectively empower lives, strengthen families, and build better communities.

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