I'm gonna start with my third foster son James (name hidden). A year ago we realized with him being so high needs, he needed to have his own room. Two of my boys moved into the garage to make space. We realized through inspections that even though we converted the garage into a room, there are certain things that have to be done to make it passable for inspection. We realized we needed to turn either the garage into an actual room or the patio. Maybe it'll be easy. Nope. The beginning quote was $8,000. There was no way we could raise it so fast. We reached out to Boost a Foster Family and they came out to look around. They normally do little stuff but not build whole rooms. They started making some phone calls and this is what came out of it..... ABC15 came out and wrote an article with a video about what we needed.
In the middle of this project James was taken to get mental health treatment for severe issues. He was then moved to a therapeutic group home. MY HEART SHATTERED. I sobbed and sobbed for weeks. James didn't deserve what he went through. But his therapist said being in a home with a family was too overwhelming for him. I received horrible letters from people accusing me of using him to build the room. It hurt so bad. I realized there will always be haters. He began to sneak call me from the hospital and his new group home. We talked and talked as quick as we could and as often as he could get away with it. Unfortunately, the boss of his new group home was one of the people that wrote a horrible letter about me online. Saying I hurt him and used him. That I didn't really love or care about him. She was rude to him and didn't treat him well. Thankfully he was removed from there and taken to another therapeutic home that was much, much better. Now he's able to call me as often as he wants whether at school or at home. We talk before bed every night. :D
So why still build the room? In the middle of all that, we had gained a new teen foster daughter and eventually also her brother. We still were MEGA lacking space. You can't place a boy and a girl in the same room after they are a certain age. The project continued. Bell Mortgage and New Heights Church in Arizona reached out to cover the costs. Wow! Several months later the project was finished. Soon I'd love to post some pics of the process! We now have 5 bedrooms and have already started talking about the possibility to add on again to help more children. Whew.... another battle for another day. But it's gonna happen.
Our foster kids have two more siblings that need placement and our agency is NOT allowing it to happen here because of our family size. Although OLR (licensing) has no problem with it, I just happened to pick an agency that has stricter rules about it. After they held a staff meeting and turned me down FLAT, I immediately asked to be able to find another agency. With their blessings, I'm currently calling around like crazy. I have a deadline, yet again, to unite siblings together and within a short about of time. However, without all these amazing companies and people in my life, it wouldn't even be a possibility. It's only possible because we were gifted an extra bedroom.
Will you join me in prayer?
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