Contributed by Becky Santoro

In the fall, Foster Village Charlotte opened up a one-of-a kind home-like resource center in the Oakhurst Neighborhood thanks to the generosity of individual donors and the seed money they won being a part of SEED20 through Social Ventures Partners. But why a resource center? What's so important about a physical location? 

Well, imagine you are a child that has been taken out of the only home and family you’ve ever known. Even though you are already experiencing toxic stress, being placed somewhere new adds additional levels of trauma. You find yourself without a familiar face, in an unknown setting, without a single belonging.

By Jennifer L. Colter, Communications Director of Thompson Child and Family Focus

Rarely does Thompson’s foster care team have a day that is uneventful. When your job entails children and their well-being-especially their long-term outcomes, day-to-day experiences are going to be challenging and have an effect at the end of the day. 

Jen Stout, Director of Family Support Services (Foster Care) at Thompson, shared a recent experience that stopped me in my tracks. Her account of a biological mom who signed her rights away to her children immediately touched my heart when I read it. Jen expressed in her post that the mother reflected on the choices she made that resulted in her inability to care for her children. And the day had come when her kids would become part of a brand new family.

Often times victims of abuse or neglect, children in foster care can have a damaged sense of self worth and require special support and nurturing throughout their foster care journey. This month, we are shining our #SpotlightOnCLT on our local nonprofit partners that support both the vulnerable children in the foster care system as well as the individuals and families who take them into their care. 

What exactly is foster care?

Foster care is a temporary placement provided by the State to provide children who, for various reasons, cannot live at-home with their parents. Children in foster care can be placed to live in residential settings, including relative and nonrelative homes, as well as group homes, and institutions. 

How does it work?

Written by Amy Andrews

Imagine being in a classroom where the instruction is given in a completely different language than the one you regularly speak. How frustrating would that be? How lonely? How difficult to stay on task? This is how it can feel for students with disabilities in a traditional classroom setting. Enter Allegro Foundation. Allegro developed a unique curriculum based on years of research that uses movement to reinforce learning concepts, allowing students to feel what is being learned and commit it to muscle memory.

A special needs diagnosis is a life-changing moment that signals a long but rewarding road of challenges and victories alike. Brian Wulf knows this all too well. As the father of two sons who live with rare disorders and multiple disabilities, Brian has chosen to dedicate the rest of his life to sharing the deep things he has learned as a dad to special needs children, as well as encourage, empower and help others through life challenges that are often overwhelming and confusing. As the Executive Director of Empowering Hands for Life, he is able to do just that.