Holidays can be hard for our birth parents, as they are separated from their children, and often times spend it alone.   One of our foster families has a special heart for birth parents and their children to reunite.   This past Thanksgiving, they opened up their home to the birth mom, who would have had nowhere else to go.    The foster mom and birth mom cooked dinner side by side as the kids and foster dad played in the living room.   They were able to co-parent and be a “blended” family for the holidays.  

The relationship between birth parents and foster parents can be a very delicate one.  If possible, we love to see mentor relationships happen between them, but know that there are many factors that can be in the way of maintaining a healthy relationship.  Sometimes, all that our birth parents need is someone to love them, give them a kind word, and treat them with the dignity that they have not always been shown.   This alone can help a parent to keep fighting for their kids and their own lives.  It can also give them open eyes to see how amazing they have been created.

The vision and hope at Youth For Christ is for restored families and relationships.  As a staff, we are not able to complete this mission without the help of our foster families.   They are the ones who can offer a “life on life” relationship to their foster children’s parents and continue to be healthy resource to them in the future.