Fostering Hope Foundation

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

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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.

Indy Give! Help a great cause, get great prizes

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It always feels good to give to a great cause, but it is even more fun with a little friendly competition and some cool prizes. Fostering Hope is one of the nonprofits participating in Indy Give!, an annual citywide giving campaign that showcases good work throughout the community.

A quick donation online, of any amount, can make you eligible for prizes while supporting our foster families and young adults.

Plus, your dollars will go even further thanks to generous matching grants from our church and business partners. St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, Classic Homes and the El Pomar Foundation. Their combined grants amount to $15,000!

Here’s how you can help:

  • Give online today at indygive.com/hope
  • Share the link with friends and family via your social media networks
  • Join in the buzz and excitement of helping our foster families and kids
  • Bask in the awesomeness

 

Fostering Hope is seeking to hire another Coordinator so that we can expand our assistance!

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Fostering Hope Program Coordinator

This is a unique opportunity to be a key participant in a nonprofit organization that values its employees and those that it serves. The successful candidate will recruit volunteer teams from faith communities to provide foster parents and their families with natural and practical supports– like those of an extended family. The Coordinator manages the training, development, and ongoing facilitation of the volunteer teams as they work with their assigned foster parents. The program’s success springs from the difference the volunteers make in the lives of foster children and the families that work to heal them.

Chief Responsibility:

To enable volunteers to assist foster parents in creating stable, developmentally enriched, trauma-sensitive environments for the children in their care.

Responsibilities:

  • To coordinate with governmental and private child welfare agencies to ensure compliance with their regulations, policies, and procedures. •To present the Fostering Hope program to faith communities in El Paso County, solicit their interest, and guide them through the process of participating in the program. •To work with interested faith communities and assist them in recruiting and developing a Fostering Hope team of volunteers. •To maintain an ongoing relationship with the sponsoring faith communities. •To provide training for the volunteer team in compliance with Fostering Hope’s curriculum that will enhance their ability to understand and support foster parents and to assist in the planning of special programs for the ongoing training and development of the volunteers. •To provide facilitation and coaching for the support team and foster parents that includes assistance with communication, identification of needs, accepting help, and encouraging empathy, as well as to ensure practical as well as emotional support to the foster family. •To monitor and respond to emotional and relational issues in the volunteers and the foster parents to minimize attrition and promote growth. •To view the ongoing facilitation of the foster parent/team relationships as a sustainable ministry, valuing the importance of the emotional, spiritual and relational aspects of support to the families. •To participate in the ongoing development of the program. •To assist in the documentation of the program. •To assist in fundraising efforts.

Qualifications:

  • Experience in child welfare; knowledge of the foster care systems and the impact of maltreatment on children. •MSW preferred. Would consider commensurate experience in other fields if accompanied by experience with child welfare system. •Strong commitment to the well-being of families. •Strong relational skills with a reliance on the dignity of the person and the healing power of relationships as guiding approaches. •Comfort in integrating faith into the core values of the social work (or other) profession. Ability to utilize one’s faith experience as a resource in dealing with the sadness and uncertainty inherent in the child welfare system. •Pastoral background or openness to professional development in the area. •Respect for and comfort in working with the diverse religious traditions within the El Paso County community. •Previous experience with working with and supporting volunteers helpful.
  • To apply, send cover letter and resume to:    http://www.indeed.com/viewjob?cmp=Fostering-Hope&t=Program+Coordinator&jk=618a885b556c7f87&q=program+coordinator%2C+fostering+hope