A firsthand account and guide to help those who bridge the gap for youth in fostercare
“It is easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken adults”
-Frederick Douglass
This book is for anyone who is or has been interested in the commitment of foster parenting. I would first like to commend you on your passion to mold the life of a young person who may have not been dealt a fair hand. Whether you are a long-time foster parent with decades of experience under your belt, or are just curious about the possibility of taking on this internally rewarding cause, we are all connected in the pursuit of something far greater than ourselves. Your interest in this type of work reveals that you already have the first and greatest key to your success: compassion.
This choice will cause you to live outside of your own little world and you will forever be changed. If you love what you’re doing and you allow that same love to flood the lives of those who have never experienced it, you will never be forgotten. Your love will live forever; this I guarantee you.
What many don’t know is that my mother was a flight risk foster child who bounced around from home to home.
She passed through and went AWOL from where I have worked for the past five years.
This closeness to the heart is what ultimately inspired me to develop my passion and choose this work.
My passion is now a testament to the redeeming power of a life forever changed by Mr. Hackett and foster parents like you. My mother never had a birthday or knew a home she didn’t run from until you bridged the gap and made her feel loved. Your dedication reached further into generations than you ever could have imagined. It’s time your commitment is recognized as I eagerly await the days grown children and their children return to me on solid ground.
It is my intent and life’s purpose to pass on what has and continues to work for me. I seek to help others achieve success to an even greater degree than myself. I owe it to you real life super-heroes to let this out and be 100% authentic in the struggles. Lastly, this is for the countless youth who have changed my life for the better.
To those who revealed in me things I didn’t know about myself.
To those who created growth and love inside my heart that will never pass away. I will tell them what it is your fellow brothers and sisters have cried out in need for. I will reveal to them the treasure in you. For all of this, I am eternally grateful.