“I love being a foster parent because it is a way to make a lasting difference in a child’s life. As a foster parent, you can give a child a happier and healthier life. It’s not easy to be a foster parent and it’s important to get support from family and from the staff at Hearts & Homes. However, it’s so worth the effort!”
—T. Johnson

“Being a foster parent with Hearts & Homes helps me practice my patience and lets me learn new things about parenting. For example, I have learned that these kids go through so much and it really does affect them in ways you would not expect. However, they are really good kids regardless of what they have faced, and it just takes patience to get through that protective shell. Fostering is really amazing because it opens your heart up new love that you didn’t even know you could give. It’s hard but incredibly rewarding. You as the foster parent, play a huge part in that child becoming a more confident, supported, and successful person, no matter what they have been through previously.”
—T. Amy

“People go in to this thinking about the changes that they are going to make in a child’s life but often get discouraged when that change isn’t happening before their eyes. These kids have been through a lot and even though you might not see them change while they are with you, you are helping that child’s future.
People need to stop thinking this is only something you are doing to help the youth, the kids we have had, have made as much of an impact in our lives as we hope we have made in theirs.”
—T. Lovings

“When I decided to become a foster parent, I had no idea of what to expect. I approached this journey with much trepidation, but with a very positive outlook. I knew in my heart that I wanted to share my blessings and give back to my community by being able to make a difference in a child’s life. For me, it did not matter what race or religion my future child was, my desire was just to have a child that I could help and introduce that child to a loving environment.
Hearts & Homes made this journey possible. I have been a foster parent now for several years, and I have opened up my home to five young ladies. It has been an experience I would have never wanted to miss. All of my expectations were met as a foster parent. Yes, sometimes there was hard work involved and frustrations overcome, but it was all worth it. I would certainly characterize my experiences and time as a foster parent as one journey I could not have missed. Success is relative, depending on how you look at it and what you value most. My time as a foster parent is definitely my success story.”
—L. F. Spraggins