Some days at Angels are easier than others. While we are grateful to all of our foster parents for taking in our babies in need, some placements are more difficult to accept than others. For example, we recently placed a baby that had been punched in the face! Can you imagine? Punching a baby in the face? It is truly unthinkable. Yet, these are the sad stories our babies face and must over come (of course, thanks to our foster parents, we know they still have a shot).
But, not every story has a happy ending. One of our little ones came to us after several years of bouncing around the system. Finally, she landed in a loving Angels home for temporary placement in a desperate attempt to bring stability to her life. This little girl had never had a father figure before, so when her Angels daddy would leave for work, she would be devastated. She wanted him to stay by her side at all times. She was clearly grasping for someone, anyone. Sadly she would call total strangers "Mommy". "Hi, Mommy!" she would say to our social workers, or even people on the street. To me, "mommy" is the most enduring word and precious sound from a little one's mouth. Yet, she freely gave that honor to anyone within ear-shout.
She has been enrolled in pre-school, but it's not working out. She doesn't respond like a normal preschoolers. She doesn't take direction, or play with children properly. Her actions are disrupting the homeostasis of a once happy family. In short, she has a very long, hard road of social acceptance ahead of her, and at no fault of her own. In her very short life, nothing has been normal for her and as her life progresses, it will be much of the same long, hard struggle. This is a reality for those that are not blessed with Angels foster parents. We should all pause to consider, what more can we do?
Staff at Angels will continue to search for ways to recruit more families and increase public awareness about the importance of putting the foster child first - just as we do our own.
Respectfully,
Monica A. Schrader
Executive Director
www.angelsfoster.com
