Monday, December 05, 2022

The holiday season can be particularly difficult for children and youth in foster care. It can be a trying time for foster parents as well. This year, Beech Brook has spent a considerable amount of time celebrating foster children and the heroes who care for them. These children and youth are especially vulnerable through no fault of their own. 

A child is abused or neglected every 47 seconds in America. These children make up the more than 16,000 children in Ohio’s foster care system – and there are only 7,200 licensed foster families to take care of them. These children have been abused and neglected, removed from their families and placed in foster care – with children of color being disproportionately represented in our child welfare system.

Foster care is supposed to be a temporary situation; however, many children and youth linger in foster care for months and years. Too many “age out” of foster care without a permanent family. Children and youth with no permanent family or connection with a caring adult face barriers most of us can’t even imagine.  

Foster kids are just kids -- like your kids, or the kids you know. But they have experienced more difficult situations and harder times than most of us will ever know in a lifetime. Some develop emotional and behavioral problems and challenging behaviors making it difficult to care for them.

Imagine a life of abuse and/or neglect and then being taken from the only family you have ever known, placed with strangers. Imagine what a foster child is feeling because they have no control of their situation.

Holidays can be especially hard for foster youth – they are missing what makes the holidays special for so many of us. Holiday traditions help build a strong bond between a person’s family and their community. They give us a sense of belonging and a way to express what is important to us. They connect us to our history and help us celebrate generations of family. But for many foster children, the holidays can bring on a sense of loss. Lost family and lost community.

At Beech Brook, we understand what these vulnerable children and youth are going through. In fact, we specialize in the highest levels of foster care, caring for children and youth who have suffered the most trauma and have the most challenging behaviors. Many of these children are only with us for a short time before being reunited with their own family or being adopted by a “forever family.” Some other children stay with us for years and transition into adulthood without a forever family. Regardless of their path, it is our job, collectively, to prepare these children and youth for whatever the future brings.

This holiday season, I want to recognize not only the foster children and youth in our care who show such amazing courage and resiliency, but also the foster parents who provide loving homes, the staff who work tirelessly to make sure these kids maintain their placements and have the best life possible, and our many supporters who do the little things that bring comfort to these kids’ lives. It takes all of us to make a difference.

This year, during Beech Brook’s 12th Annual 5K and Family Fun Run, we recognized the biggest heroes in the struggle to take care of the most vulnerable among us: our foster families. These caring folks will never get enough recognition or praise. They are truly saints for opening their homes to children and youth who have suffered so much trauma. Providing a loving home is the most important thing we can do, and the biggest sacrifice. It was heartwarming to see one of Beech Brook’s former foster children, adopted by her foster mother, ring the starting bell for the race.

Finally, to all of Beech Brook’s supporters, I say thank you! Without you, our job would be much more difficult. During this year’s Giving Tuesday Toy Drive, we collected more than 800 toys which will find their way to the children we care for this holiday season. It will bring some joy and happiness to those who have suffered so much. Thank you to those of you who donate gift cards or sponsor parties for our foster children and foster parents. Your caring for our most vulnerable youth not only makes a difference at this time of year, but all year round.

Again, thank you for helping children and families thrive, together!

-Tom Royer, Beech Brook President & CEO