Lighting a fire under foster care
By Barry Porterfield
Looking to maybe light a fire in the world of foster care or the very least bring awareness to those interested in just learning more is the idea behind an upcoming meeting in Pauls Valley.
That’s what the meeting is all about at 3 p.m. Sunday, September 22 at Light of the World Church in Pauls Valley.
Tara Brown knows what it’s like to have a foster home. She says there is a “desperate” need in Oklahoma for more of them.
“A friend and I decided it was time to have an informational meeting so people can learn about foster care to see if they want to be foster parents or how they can support a foster family,” Brown said.
“We’ll have a (Department of Human Services) recruiter there to have the answers.”
Brown, who has been a foster parent for about 7 years, has led a foster adoption support group for a couple of years.
For her, the desire to do even more came when she sat down and watched the movie “Sound of Hope,” which is about a true story of members of an east Texas church.
From that church 22 families adopted 77 children from the local foster system as the movie is about a family getting the message out there for folks to adopt children.
“I thought why can’t we do that,” she said. “That is what lit my fire this summer when I watched that movie.”
According to Brown, statistics show as of August 1 there were 5,823 children in state custody in Oklahoma and only 1,443 foster homes.
She says those numbers show the major gap between the two and the need for more foster homes for these kids.
“I think it’s just easier to look the other way. I want to bring awareness to the statistics,” Brown said.
“I don’t want people to be scared to come to the meeting. I want to make sure people know they do not have to sign up to be a foster parent.
“Not everybody can be a foster parent, but everybody can support foster homes. There are ways they can help foster homes.”
Those coming to the meeting are expected to hear real-life experiences from adoptees as there will be plenty of time for questions and answers.
Child care and refreshments will be provided at the meeting. Call or text 405-251-0084 to find out more.
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