With the changing world COVID-19 has placed on us, we as a society have been forced to change the way we live our lives and in many ways this pandemic has awoken us to discover what is important in life.  The stressors of losing jobs, working from home while helping educate our children single-handily by remote, limiting our social contacts are all areas that have required an adjustment from the once we knew as normal. On a positive note it has given us more time to relish and care about the time spent with our family and children.

With this in mind, I ask that we each take a few minutes to think about the child who has been unable to experience this. There is no one able to adequately care and keep them safe. Can we imagine the family with limited resources not only financially but emotionally? The families whose coping skills were maxed out even before the pandemic, the child living in situations where abuse and neglect have been the cornerstone of their existence. Its true communities and people all come together in times of crisis. We all want to do our part as neighbors and good Samaritans and in so many ways we continue to accomplish this. However: can we take things a bit further? Can we offer a child who is in need of a loving and nurturing home a safe and loving environment? Think about it, do you have room in your life and heart to offer a safe haven for a child in need.

Almost every day more children enter foster care for reasons which are unrelated to the pandemic. It’s the reality we live in. Opening our heart and home to become a foster parent is a journey that can fulfill us not only emotionally but spiritually. It’s a commitment that can offer unmeasurable rewards. The experience of becoming a foster parent taps into strengths and skills many of us didn’t even know we had. Yes, there are challenges and at times disappointments. However, it is important to know you are not in this alone. Devereux Therapeutic Foster Care in West Springfield, MA is an agency that offers 24-hour support, knowledge, and ongoing training for their foster parents. We are all in this together and as a team.

Devereux strives to foster and support an inclusive environment that values, hears and respects all voices, cultures, languages, genders, sexual orientations, races and ethnicities in a way that promotes cultural competence in both treatment and organizational outcomes.

In closing, I ask, can you consider taking on this challenging yet rewarding experience for children who have been abused and/or neglected.  Is your heart and home able to open up enough to provide for these children? The need for providing loving and nurturing foster homes is epidemic and a dire service needed for the children in our communities. I hope you will consider this and become that safe refuge. If interested, please feel free to contact our recruiters Maureen at 413-209-7677 or Janet at 508-713-3895. We are available to offer more information and answer any of your questions.

Maureen Bennett
Devereux Advanced
Behavioral Health,
Western Region