The new school year can already be nerve-wracking for kids…
Blog Articles
Finding My North Star: My journey from foster care to success
By Elina MorrisonYouth Villages Advisory Council Dear 17-year-old Elina, At this time in your life, you are angry and sad, and things feel beyond repair. It’s October of 2017, and you have been placed in the foster care system for the second time in your life. While...
At 17, Gloria overcomes tragedy with the help of Youth Villages’ Intercept
Many children enter foster care because of a lack of support in a time of family crisis. Youth Villages’ intensive in-home services program, Intercept, provides support and help for children and parents that can make a difference. At 16, Gloria had already experienced...
Learning to be Patient – Neal Family
For Middle Tennessee-based Jaywanna Neal, fostering is second nature. Growing up, her mom opened her home to foster children and adopted a pair of siblings. When Jaywanna was single and in her 20s, she took in her first foster child. She said it was a great...
Family Vacation with a Twist
Stacy Howell has been a foster parent for almost three years. During this time, she has fostered countless children, many of whom have successfully returned home. Most recently, Stacy fostered a sibling group of three for about two years. During this time, Stacy faced...
Kaleb and Kobe
From Foster Care to a Super Hero Kaleb and his brother, Kobe, had been through a lot early on in their lives. Their father passed away from an apparent overdose, and their mother couldn’t be found. They were placed in foster care with Chinishe Ray, followed by some...
Carly and Chrissy
With the staggering number of children in foster care in our communities, there is always a need for more foster families. After years of trying to conceive, Carly and Crissy decided that fostering was the next step in their journey to become parents. “We received...
Valaquez: the tools to overcome any obstacle
If you had to sum him up in one word, you’d say that Valaquez is confident. It’s obvious…
Erica Ellis joins Youth Villages as North Carolina Director of Development
With more than a dozen years of experience in fundraising, Erica Ellis joined Youth Villages as the North Carolina Development Director this past May…
Sarah’s Story: Moving Beyond the Obstacles
Sometimes challenges and obstacles are more than parents and children can handle.