10 Years of the Village: THE VISION
As we reflect on the past decade of this village, it’s clear that what began as a need recognized through lived experience has become a call that speaks to the power of our shared human experience. What started as a personal journey has unfolded into a shared movement—rooted in the simple truth that foster care, and the various intersections it’s tied to, was never meant to be navigated alone.
When our family became a licensed foster home in 2014, we believed we were prepared. We had taken the classes, read the books, and stepped forward with open hearts and hopeful intentions. What we didn’t yet understand was how layered and isolating the foster care experience can be. The road twists unexpectedly. Emotional highs and lows arrive without warning. And certainty is often hard to come by.
It didn’t take long to realize that good intentions alone could not sustain us. We were holding space for complex trauma while juggling court dates, CPS visits, preparing for goodbyes, building unconventional and often fragile relationships, and navigating sleepless nights—sometimes all at once. In moments when it felt hard to stay afloat, we discovered our greatest lifeline: connection with those who truly understood. People who could sit with the weight of it all became steady anchors. The most life-giving words were simple, yet profound: “I get it.”
Again and again, one phrase surfaced in conversations with families like ours: “I wish we had a village.” A place where explanations weren’t required. Where support arrived without asking. Where compassionate connection was readily available, and support was practical, consistent, and grounded in understanding.
At the same time, we heard something else from friends, neighbors, faith communities, and coworkers: “Let us know how we can help.” Their hearts were sincere and willing. Yet anyone who has lived in survival mode knows how difficult it can be to direct even the most well-meaning support when you’re simply trying to make it through the day. The missing piece wasn’t willingness; it was direction.
And so a quiet, persistent thought began to form– one that continued to grow through the chaos: when we were no longer in survival mode, I wanted to help guide those caring community members to find their place in building the village we were all longing for. I was reminded of the ways community had been a saving grace through my own childhood adversity. It was bystanders who stepped into my family’s brokenness and isolation with compassion and consistency who helped build a path toward healing.
As we began sharing these longings out loud, we realized we weren’t alone. Others were carrying the same questions, the same hopes, the same vision for a better way to support families walking this road. That shared knowing gave language and momentum to what was taking shape.
Our story followed the familiar foster care rhythm—unpredictability and paradox, joy braided with grief, hope alongside loss. When we adopted our youngest at the end of 2015, we began shaping a new rhythm of life—one that honored her birth mom, also a former foster youth, not at the margins but at the heart of our story. As that rhythm took hold, the constant urgency softened. With space to breathe came clarity, and we could finally name what had been missing and imagine what might be possible instead.
What if families navigating the whirlwind of foster care didn’t have to do it alone?
What if support were proactive, not reactive?
What if there were tangible ways to connect those in isolation, the full spectrum of those intersecting with the child welfare system, with a village of support?
That question became the vision.
Foster Village was born from a deep conviction: foster care should be sustained by community, not shouldered in isolation. It takes a village, not as a phrase, but as compassion in action. A village that listens first. A village that shows up consistently. A village that understands that caring for children also means caring for the families who love them.
Over the past decade, we have witnessed what becomes possible when adversity is met with collective care. We’ve seen burdens shared, families strengthened, and communities transformed– not by minimizing the hard, but by choosing to show up together, again and again.
As we begin sharing the story of how Foster Village came to be, our hope is that you’ll see yourself within it. Whether you are a foster parent, a volunteer, a donor, or someone still wondering how to help…
This vision belongs to you.
This is where it began.
And it continues with all of us.
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