Buncombe thanks local foster parents

Here’s the press release from Buncombe County:

May is National Foster Parent Appreciation Month

Buncombe County Health and Human Services wants to say “Thank You!” to the foster parents in our community. Throughout Buncombe County almost 100 foster parents open their hearts and homes to kids in foster care giving needed shelter to children so they can begin to heal in a safe and nurturing environment.
Foster care is a temporary living arrangement for abused or neglected children who need a safe place to live when their birth family cannot care for them, often times because of illness, abuse, or addiction. When abuse or neglect has been substantiated, a judge may order that the child be removed from the care of their parents. Often times the aversive environments that these children have lived in can stunt brain development and cause long term health problems such as heart disease, mental illness, and learning disabilities.
Children in foster care are of all different races and ages, with unique personalities and backgrounds. They have favorite foods and hobbies, and dreams about the future. Kids in foster care want a normal life experience; where they belong, where they connect, and where, if they dare to dream out loud, it will be heard by someone with an open mind and open heart.
Foster parents work in partnership with a child’s family and a team of professionals to help children grow up in a safe and healthy place. Often times this may mean children go back to their birth parents once issues of safety have been addressed.
While foster care is meant to be a temporary living arrangement sometimes it is not safe for a child to ever return to their birth family. In this case foster parents may consider adoption as a way to provide a permanent living situation for children. We are also grateful to those who have made this choice to become a forever family for a child.
Unfortunately, there are over 200 kids in foster care in Buncombe County and not enough foster homes to support them. This means that some children must be placed in a group home or out of the state, far away from their siblings and familiar surroundings. More foster parents are needed to give guidance and love to children who are going through a challenging time.
As one Buncombe County teen in foster care said, “I think that being in foster care helped me so much because it gave me a way out of the lifestyle that I had been stuck in all my life. I am 18 years old now and still with my foster parents for that exact reason. Foster care steered my life in the right direction. I know that everybody’s story may be different, but my story is going to end in success. I have foster parents to thank for that.”
If you know someone who fosters children, take the time to thank them for their work. We also want to encourage others to ask themselves: Could I be a foster parent? You don’t have to be a perfect person to be a perfect foster parent. Opening your heart to kids in foster care can profoundly shape a better future for a child and provide rich rewards to a fostering parent.
There are many ways big and small to get involved. Contact us at (828) 250-5868 and see how you answer the call of “Yes, I could do that for a kid…”.  For more information about foster care, please visit buncombecounty.org/hhs.