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There’s no motivator like passion. Just ask Delores, whose foster son, Mike, has discovered his: aeronautical engineering.
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On Sunday evenings, the Tran house fills with music. Thirteen-year-old Lizzie plays piano and her 8-year-old brother, Andrew, is on drums. Foster mom, Mimi, is a great fiddler and foster dad, Don, plays piano and electric bass. At regular intervals, their music gives way to chain-reaction laughter. But it wasn’t always like this.
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Small Steps Overcome Big Challenges
When Jason entered the foster care system he’d never played the guitar, but he wanted to. There was no reason for him to believe that becoming a foster kid would give him the opportunity to learn how to play, but it did.
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Reuben was orphaned as a child, bounced from home to home his entire childhood, and didn’t attend a consecutive year of school until he was a junior in high school. The impact this had on his education was devastating and, it seemed to him, it predicted that he would never attend college.
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Lee is a charming, outgoing fourth grader with a big smile and a generous heart. In his eight years, he has suffered intense physical and emotional abuse that has left him with physical trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. His disabilities manifest in behaviors like running away and physical aggression.
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In the fall of 2008 Carly was finally doing well in school. She’d been removed from her birth home and placed in a group home that she really liked. Her grades and attitude were improving and everyone involved was quite pleased with her turnaround. Then she was placed in a relative’s home and she quickly began to deteriorate. Her attitude and grades suffered and she was quickly slipping back into bad decision-making. By late January she was removed from her relatives home and sent back to the group home where she’d previously been successful.
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Sophia is a foster kid with big dreams. She dreams of going to college one day. But she has a medical condition that keeps her out of school more often than most kids, so she needs extra support in and out of school. Fortunately she’s got a big support team – a hospital case manager, social worker, caregivers, and now a Treehouse Advocate.
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At eight years old Carl was on the brink of entering the foster care system because his parents didn’t have the skills they needed to safely raise him. To keep the family together and get the skills they needed, they were working with a social worker. At that time Carl was really struggling in school due to his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s a struggle to get him to slow down and pay attention long enough for the simplest of tasks, from chores to school work.
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After 18 “homes” it wouldn’t be surprising if Sabas didn’t graduate from high school on time. But he will. Little Wishes just paid for the bright yellow cap and gown he’ll proudly wear as he walks across the stage and accepts his High School diploma from Chief Sealth High. It’s been a long, bumpy road for him, though.
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At nine years old Sheila suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. She’s a bright girl, though, and her caregivers and social worker knew she could be having more success academically. After talking with Sheila they realized that there were social barriers in Sheila’s life that kept her from feeling like she fit in. Her caregivers worked with Sheila’s teachers, counselors, and school staff to help Sheila feel like one of the kids. But there was one barrier left to overcome. Sheila had to ride the special services bus to school.
Foster Care Fact
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In a Washington state study, only 59% of youth in foster care enrolled in 11th grade completed high school by the end of 12th grade.
