 For release: May 5, 2014
Contact:
Lois Nilson, Foster Care Licensing, 612-596-0779
Maria Elena Baca, Public Affairs, 612-348-7865
News release
On any given night, more than 600 children and teens will
sleep in a warm, clean bed provided by a Hennepin County-licensed foster
family.
To mark National Foster Care Awareness Month, Hennepin County recognizes and thanks the 350 families who have
opened their homes and hearts to children who need them.
"Foster families help create a foundation for families in crisis to rebuild on," said Hennepin County Commissioner Linda Higgins. "Their love and commitment makes Hennepin County a better place for families and for children."
And the need continues.
Foster care is a temporary solution, a safe, caring
environment for kids while their parents work on the issues that have gotten in
the way of parenting their children, including mental and chemical health problems and domestic abuse.
Most children in foster care go home, once their families
have learned new skills and have connected with a spectrum of community
resources to support them.
Foster parents face a big challenge. Kids they have never
met arrive at their doors in pain. They need healing, affection, stability and
healthy boundaries. But just like any kids, they also need help with their
homework. They need regular meals, a safe place to play, a listening ear,
someone who cares about them. Above all, they need a chance to just be kids.Foster families love and nurture the children, and then they send them home.
Foster families say that watching children thrive makes the emotional investment worthwhile. They are touching families in a positive way, and making a big
difference in their communities.
Being there while they're needed
Stella and James Gamble became foster parents 21 years ago,
once their own children had grown. Over the decades, about 500 Hennepin County kids
have stayed at their Champlin home. Stella says her job is to love the children
and teens, and prepare them to go back home.
“I don’t care how good you are, or what you do, they want
their parents," Stella Gamble said. "You are there to encourage that relationship and not say anything
or do anything that would be negative.”
It’s not easy, she said. Foster kids come into their home as
strangers. Many are angry or frightened. Sometimes the job seems overwhelming.
“You need to have a bag of tricks,” she said. “Children are not
like pets or goldfish. You have to love them and care for them and give them
all the nurturing you can. Sometimes it’s hard.”
Creating a family
Kim Eckert and Suzanne Cimbura have been foster parents
for two years. They’ve fostered five infants during that time. They've adopted
two toddler sons. They’re hoping to adopt a third soon.
The couple became foster parents as a way to grow their family.
Their first foster child was with them 12 days, long enough for both to fall
completely in love with her. Then she went home.
An infant boy was with them five months before he was
cleared to go home, too.
“It’s scary,” Eckert said. “You love them instantaneously,
but you also know that they can go at any time. You just keep telling yourself
in your mind that you’re doing a wonderful thing, and even if this child
doesn’t stay in your home, what a wonderful beginning you’re giving them.”
Giving something back
For the Gambles, foster care was a way to give back to their
community.
“We were so blessed with our own kids,” she said. “It’s just
not enough to say, ‘Isn't that a shame? Isn’t it too bad? You’ve got to get in
there, roll your sleeves up and help. You’ve got to get in there and help the
kids.”
For information about becoming a licensed foster parent in
Hennepin County, attend a monthly information meeting. The next one is
scheduled for Tuesday, May 20, at 6 p.m., at Hosmer Library, 347 East 36th
Street, Minneapolis. For future sessions, visit www.hennepin.us/fostercare.
To interview a Hennepin County foster family, contact Maria Elena Baca.
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Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.
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