By Erica Sattler SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The foster care system can be confusing and even disheartening. Foster care is a program where a minor is placed into a new home and cared for by someone who is not their parent, certified by the state. When a child enters the foster care system, it is common for them to be given a trash bag to carry their belongings.
Twelve hundred children enter foster care in the United States every day. If even half of those kids receive a trash bag, that is 600 kids that are now forced to carry everything they own in a garbage bag. There are a lot of reasons that a child enters foster care, and not every child remains in foster care, but children are not garbage.
While this isn’t anyone’s fault in particular, and there is sometimes just not enough money to provide a bag for these kids while caring for them, it does not make this okay. This is just one example of something that a foster child can go through.
To help these kids, a nonprofit organization called Together We Rise executes community action projects to help give these children a sense of normalcy and belonging so that they have a better chance of growing up to be a successful adult.
Together We Rise at Hofstra follows this mission to help foster youth on Long Island. The club’s first community action project this semester was to visit a group home with board games and spend some time with the residents. Members of the club visited Hope for Youth’s Family Ties facility in Amityville, which is a diagnostic group home that is designed to keep siblings together after Child Protective Services removes them from their family home. They brought along Monopoly, Farkle, Uno, and two decks of cards that we donated to the home.
The club spent two hours playing and teaching each other new games while sharing stories and a lot of laughs.This was a new experience for everyone in the club and I can honestly say that we all had a great time. Everyone wants to feel important, and by spending time with these kids, we were able to give them more of the attention that they deserve. Sometimes, it’s the little things that make a difference and the memories made will last a lifetime.
Whether your cause is foster care innovation, rescuing animals, cleaning up parks or anything in between, I encourage you to take some time out of your day and do something about it. Two hours at a group home may be a small part of a bigger picture, but making any type of difference is a monumental step toward a better world.
I am confident that volunteering to help these children will make a difference, and I am excited to see where Together We Rise at Hofstra takes me in the future as I work to help these kids. The foster care system doesn’t have to feel so discouraging.
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