Fostering Hope Foundation

Where there is help, there is hope. Where there is hope, there is a future.

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Donate a Car to Change a Life

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Lilliane, 20, is going places. She is a junior in college who is majoring in both finance and accounting while working part-time. She aspires to join a major accounting firm, get her doctoral degree, and someday start her own firm. Her story defies the odds for most emancipated foster youth, who more often than not find themselves homeless, unemployed and without a high school diploma.

But when it comes to literally going places, she could use our help. She needs a car. Taking the bus is never easy, but when classes resume on Aug. 15, the bus schedule will no longer align with her schedule. 

If you have an older, driveable vehicle or known someone who does, this is a great opportunity to make an investment in a young adult’s future by donating it to Lilliane, via Fostering Hope. This generous, in-kind donation would be tax deductible, and the vehicle would go directly to Lilliane to serve her immediate needs with reaching her goals. Fostering Hope has car-savvy supporters who can do light mechanical work and inspections, if needed.

Please contact Brian Ferguson at bferguson@fosteringhopefoundation.org or Brian Newsome at brian@fosteringhopefoundation.org. 

 

 

Fostering Hope Picnic Updates

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Updated June 24, 1:15 p.m.: Our Fostering Hope picnic is still on today, despite the cloudy weather and chance of rain. We have a big pavilion to keep us dry, as needed. Come for music, games and food, and most importantly, celebrating family and community.

The picnic is from 3 to 6 p.m. today, June 24, at Bear Creek Regional Park in the big pavilion (turn at 21st and Angus) on the west side of 21st.

If you did not RSVP or don’t recall seeing an invite or announcement, that’s OK. Please c’mon out. We have plenty of food and fun for all.

If you have questions, text or call Brian Newsome at 719-200-5293.

 

Oprah Winfrey talks trauma on 60 Minutes

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trauma
Oprah talks about childhood trauma on 60 Minutes

Executive Director Angela Carron left her pediatric practice 10 years ago to help her father, Nick Colarelli, direct Fostering Hope. She hung up her white coat after a life-changing encounter with science. At that time, she was convinced that recent discoveries about childhood trauma and toxic stress would become one of the most significant medical milestones since antibiotics.

This understanding about adverse childhood experiences and their effect on the brain was so profound that it informed virtually every aspect of Fostering Hope’s program. Facilitating stable, nurturing and enduring relationships with foster parents and volunteers became a cornerstone. This approach is credited with the successful outcomes we’ve seen in the lives of children in foster care since. Angela, whose physician specialty was in child abuse, and Nick, a clinical psychologist and co-founder of Fostering Hope, saw true healing from abuse and neglect by embracing this understanding.

Trauma-informed care goes from medical world to mainstream

Now, there’s a new champion in this crusade. Oprah Winfrey, who experienced a traumatic childhood herself, just recently stumbled upon the science of trauma and healing, and it affected her so deeply that she secured special permission from 60 minutes to do a segment on the subject. You can watch her interview with the top experts on toxic stress Sunday, March 11, at 6 p.m. MST on CBS (KKTV Channel 11 in Colorado Springs).

In a preview with CBS This Morning, Oprah said she was so transformed by this understanding that she’s going to make changes in her philanthropic strategies and has gained new insight into her own past. She now realizes, in her words, that the relationships in her life were fundamental to her resiliency and success, and she considers this a “game-changer” in the way we support others.

Watch the preview here.

Relationships are key in healing from trauma

Relationships and the stability, enrichment and connections are why we work so hard to ensure that volunteers not only serve foster families and young adults, but become trustworthy friends who can stay with them for the long haul. We embrace the notion of walking with them, and instead of asking what’s wrong with a child, we ask what happened and how can we help?

When a child regains trust and confidence, feels safe, and knows there are people in his or her life whose eyes brighten when they see them, it restores hope and healing. In Oprah’s interview on CBS This Morning, she emphasizes the importance of relationships in her own life in helping her become who she is today and credits them with helping her succeed in spite of her experiences.

If you’re interested in learning even more about this science, you can check out https://acestoohigh.com/ for research, blogs and other articles.

 

 

 

 

Resolving to Make a Difference in 2018: Fostering Hope’s Goals

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Did you know only 8 percent of people keep their New Year’s resolutions? Yet so many of us keep making them year after year in spite of these odds. That’s because a new calendar year brings a sense of possibilities and hope. A blank slate. At Fostering Hope, we don’t make resolutions, but we do set annual goals.

Keeping ourselves accountable

Goal-setting is one important way we hold ourselves accountable to our mission. We establish goals to honor the trust placed in us by foster parents and kids, donors, volunteers, child welfare workers, faith partners, businesses and others.

Fostering Hope’s 2018 Goals at a Glance

Here is a brief summary of our goals for 2018:

  • We plan to add additional volunteer teams from our faith communities to support even more foster families in our community. This will bring our total number of families served to 45. Our goal is that every foster family on our waiting list has the support of a volunteer team.
  • We are expanding the Fostering Adulthood segment of our program to include additional businesses for our Teen Intern Partnership, and we are implementing a transitional housing program. There are approximately 70 teens and young adults in El Paso County who are close to aging out of foster care or are already on their own. Statistically, each one of these kids is at a disproportionate risk of homelessness, criminality and joblessness without our help.
  • We will do more to get the word out about what we do. As we speak with others, we find that many are surprised to learn about the shortage of foster parents, the statistics of kids who age out, the devastating effects of trauma, and the fact that there are truly effective ways to be part of the solution. We will be launching a series of informational meetings in 2018 for newcomers who may be interested in this need and how we are addressing it. If you are interested in attending or hosting such a meeting, email Brian Newsome, brian@fosteringhopefoundation.org, and be sure to follow us on Facebook.

 

Zaire’s story: “I am doing great things.”

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Zaire is going to college. He has a steady job. He’s saving money for the future, and he is executing on a thoughtful, carefully laid plan to become a video game designer.

“Because of my foster mom, no, my mom, I’m doing great things. I’m going to do great things. I’m in college, I have a job,” he said in a recent interview.

Zaire’s accomplishments are remarkable for any 19-year-old, but even more so for someone who grew up in foster care.

Such challenges derail many other kids’ his age, including many of his peers.

Now, he’s working to encourage others and let them know there is, in fact, hope.

He credits his success, in part, to the dedication of a loving foster mom and the team of Fostering Hope volunteers who supported their foster family along the way. They provided him with stability, enrichment and connections that helped him recognize his potential and begin to think big.

His story illuminates what Fostering Hope suspected when we launched as a pilot program 12 years ago with the notion that extended family – and the love and support that come with it – could help repair the wounds of trauma, abuse and neglect.

It’s estimated that a third of chronically homeless adults and half of the prison population have roots in foster care.

Zaire has held a steady job – 3 years and counting – at Faricy Boys. When he earned a full-ride scholarship to UCCS, he discovered his love of video games could become a viable career path. He’s learning practical skills like driving and budgeting, and he’s even tutoring young people.

He inspires other youth in the system to make the best out of the opportunities that come their way.