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Happy National Kinship Care Month! Today, we are going to be highlighting a Love Box Leader, the Love Box Group, and the willingness of those people to support a family in the foster care community. Caroline Bortz joined the Houston Angels volunteer efforts through our Love Box Program. Thanks to her and her group’s willingness to serve the foster care community, a kinship family of 9 kids has forever been impacted. Read what Caroline Bortz has to say about her experience below: How did you find out about the Houston Angels? Our church has an outreach program and it was listed as an opportunity for us to serve our community! Why did you decide to participate in our Love Box program? I did some research on Houston Angels and loved what I learned about it! The Love Box program was a perfect fit for our group since we were a little larger and had the ability to volunteer monthly. We wanted to support a great cause and love on/support an amazing family! What have you gained personally from the Love Box program? So much! Knowledge about the foster care system, perspective about the foster care system (how many people it affects), relationships with all the kids, relationships with the foster parent, relationship with the biological mom and how you can make a difference/help families in the foster care system. Has the Love Box program helped change any of your perspectives in life? All children, no matter their background, desire similar things like love and attention. We were a little nervous initially because it was our first time interacting with children/a family in foster care. But, the kids are so amazing and are just like any other kid. They want to play, they want to be interacted with and talked to, love showing us their toys. The kids didn’t care what we brought in the box, they just wanted a relationship. A few hours once a month can make a big impact! Did you have any fears about being in the program? If so, what were they? What helped you overcome these fears? There were definitely some fears - will the kids like us, will the guardian/parent like us, do they need help, how do we get to know the kids? But it just took showing up every month and getting to know the kids - playing with them like they were any other kid! Describe your relationship with the kids. Describe your relationship with the caregivers. The kids are incredible! Not only so respectful and kind, but just the goofiest, most energetic little humans (we were always exhausted after playing!). Each relationship with the kids were different - some girls wanted to talk more, one always wanted to play basketball. Our relationship with the guardian/parent was there however she wanted us to be, through text/dropping off what she said they needed, checking in emotionally to see how she was doing, and encouraging her for doing such an amazing job! Being a caretaker is hard! What is your favorite memory/experience with the family? I think just getting to know the kids, seeing their personalities come out over time. Playing with them - water balloon fights, chalk, lots of hide and seek.  Tell us about what you have learned about kinship foster families. Kinship foster families allow for kids to stay with family and that is a huge blessing. I cannot imagine these siblings not all being in one household together - they are each other's best friends. And they love their caregiver/family member so much. What do you wish people knew about foster care / kinship care? Foster care / kinship care affects a lot of people, specifically amazing children and selfless caregivers. Any support at all, emotional or financial, goes a long way and truly makes an impact. I would like to encourage more people to get involved! If you were to speak face-to-face with the donors who help make the Love Box program possible, what would you say to them, to reassure them that their support is making a difference? I could write pages! These families and children are in such need of the Love Box program. I saw for the first time the positive effect it had on their lives. I don’t think anyone could put a price on making a child smile, laugh, feel loved and seen. Furthermore, the support provided to the caregiver, acknowledging the difficulties and encouraging her for all her sacrifice and hard work. I would like to say thank you to donors and that their money is directly touching many lives. How has your involvement with our [organization/program] benefited you or your community in terms of increasing quality of life or satisfaction? I have gained perspective and told many people about the Love Box program! I also have just purely enjoyed it! It brought me joy! The Love Box Program was created to provide a sense of community and support for fostering families through intentional giving, relationship building, and mentorship. Every family's love box may look different, because it all depends on the needs of the family!  We are SO grateful for our volunteers and Love Box Groups, as they are what makes all of this possible!
Want to learn more about the Love Box Program & how to get involved? Visit our website at www.houangels.org/lovebox.html. Read more about what the Love Box is, Read our Logic Model behind the Love Box Program, or complete the online volunteer application to get started with your volunteer journey! Written By: Kelsey Karr, Houston Angels Intern
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Written By: Kelsey Karr, Houston Angels Intern Hey everyone! It’s National Kinship Care Month, and we at the Houston Angels are here to honor and celebrate the families involved in kinship care. First up, we would love for you to meet the Irby Jones Family.
Mrs. LaShonna Irby is the mother of one biological child. Her daughter graduated high school at the young age of 16, and began college to pursue her degree of social work. While her daughter was in college, Mrs. LaShonna was under the impression that her time “raising kids” was over. Well, in 2018 that changed when the State of Kansas Court System and a C.A.S.A Worker contacted Mrs. Irby letting her know that her father’s children were in the care of the state and needed a place to call home. How the Irby Family Prepared Now, as you can imagine, the Irby family home was not particularly “kid-friendly” because it hadn’t had young children living in it for quite some time. To become a kinship certified home and to successfully take in her siblings, Mrs. Irby worked with Sanctuary Foster Care Services here in the Houston area. This foster care service/agency helped the Irby family through the entire process of getting the kids into their home. From parenting classes to obtaining a CPR license, to home inspections, the agency assisted them with all of it. With the formalities finished, all that was missing was the kids. To ensure she was ready to care for the kids and to test how “kid-friendly” her home was, Mrs. LaShonna decided to begin offering respite care for foster families. Respite care is when there are planned short-term and time-limited breaks for foster families. So by becoming a “respite care home”, the Irby family was able to get a little practice when it came to caregiving and having smaller kids present. Home Forever. Lots of preparation went into providing these three kids a home. Finally, on March 18, 2021, three beautiful children were officially in Texas and in their forever home with the Irby Family. So, let’s meet the kids.  (Left to Right: Karrie, Lamont, & Treyvon) Karrie Irby is a 10 year old sassy ball of sunshine. She is very caring, and aspires to be a nurse when she is older. Lamont Jones Jr. is a four year old boy who aspires to be a police officer when he’s older. Treyvon is a 9 year old who is considering joining the military and serving our country when he is older. All three of these beautiful children are different in their own way, but share a common thing that kept them together, their “Sissy” (LaShonna Irby). The Irby’s have many things that they enjoy doing together as a family. Just a few of these things include going to Dave & Busters, going to Main Event, watching movies, and attending family outings together. A Message to Kinship & Foster Families. Through talking to the Irby family for this blog post, it became evident that there have been sacrifices made and a lot of time, work, effort, and love put into welcoming these kids into their home. It was an extensive journey for this family, filled with triumphs, stalls, and trials. The important thing that the Irby family would like you to know is that you need to Keep Climbing. It is a lot of work and it does get hard sometimes, but you ultimately are doing what is best for the kids. We do not know the individual trauma that each child has from their life journey so far, and so we must continue to serve the children - with their best interest at heart. The Irby family kept climbing, relying on patience, prayer, and community to make it through. Now, here they are, a happier and larger family than before.
Want to know more?
If you want to know more information about kinship care, and how to support these families, please visit the following sources: September is National Kinship Care Month.
So what is kinship care exactly? Kinship care is recognized as the full-time protection and nurture of children by relatives, members of their tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents, fictive kin or non-related extended family members. Kinship care is inclusive, and is a way for birth families to ensure the child’s cultural values and ties of affection remain. There are two types of kinship care:
How common is kinship care? An estimated 2.7 million children (about 4% of all children in the United States) are being raised by grandparents or other relatives. Nearly 25% of children in the foster care system are placed with relatives, and it’s estimated that many more are being raised by grandparents or other relatives outside of the foster system. With so many children being raised by relatives other than their biological parents, chances are you most likely know someone in your own community who is currently raising a child in kinship care. How can you help? Kinship caregivers can experience significant hardship once they take on this role of caring for additional children. Most often, the kinship arrangement is unforeseen, and families can experience increased financial, emotional, health, physical, and social challenges. The next time you speak with a kinship caregiver, take the time to offer them support in any way that you can. Maybe they need someone to cook them a meal, or someone to provide childcare services so they can have a little time away. Want to partner with the Houston Angels to support kinship families? Sign up to be an Angel Ally or join our Love Box program! More information about the ways that you can serve can be found on our website, www.houangels.org. Want to know more? If you want to know more information about kinship care, and how to support these families, please visit the following sources: |
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