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It’s 18-year-old Sade’s first holiday season without her mother. After a prolonged hospital stay, this spring her mother succumbed to a terminal illness. Sade’s Children’s Law Center team acted as the family she didn’t have and organized a funeral. Even before her mother’s death, Sade was having difficulty adjusting to life “in the system” and she resented being placed in a group home. The pain of losing her mother finally made Sade consent to individual therapy. At the same time, she knows being 18 means she needs to focus on her future: working towards her GED, exploring job options – she wants to be an EMT – and preparing to live independently.
Wayne is a shy 15-year-old who just wants a family. Wayne came into foster care after he was physically abused by his mother. His first placement was in a group home, but a group of older boys bullied him terribly. Last year Wayne’s guardian ad litem successfully advocated to have him moved to a therapeutic foster home that could better meet his needs, but Wayne knows it isn’t home. Despite their troubled relationship, he misses his mother. During the holidays it’s even harder to schedule supervised visits, and Wayne feels the separation even more.
For the first year, Children’s Law Center is accepting gift cards for our teen clients like Sade and Wayne in lieu of having Santas “adopt” them for the holidays. CLC suggests some teen favorites like Target, Best Buy, Forever 21, Modell’s and Macy’s – but our teen clients will appreciate gift cards from any retailers.
Like Wayne and Sade, many of our teens have overcome incredible obstacles, adjusting to an almost constant state of transition. They are all preparing for a huge transition: turning 21 and aging out of foster care. We work hard to help them prepare to live independently. As young adults, they understand how generous Santas are and how important that generosity is.
Whether you'd like to be part of our Holiday Hope Drive by purchasing gift cards for our teens or "adopting" a younger child, please sign up today.
You did for me what no one else would do; you came through on your promises to always be there for me when I needed you the most. There is not a day that goes by that I do not remember you and what you did for me.
-Timothy,
17 years old
