THE GIFT OF LIFE: OPEN YUR HEART AND HOME TO A CHILD

By Marjorie J. Hurst

we, at Point of View, thank you, our readers, for all that you do but we hope that this story might inspire you to do more. Chris and Yvette Duhart have done so much, much more! From them, I have learned that it doesn’t take anything special to give the gift of life to a child, just a desire to help and a willingness to open one’s heart and home.

This is the time when many of us will be turning our attention to holiday celebrations. And whether we celebrate Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Three Kings Day, a combination of the above, or some other holiday, chances are we will be in a festive mood for all, if not some part, of the holiday season.

As adults we will be telling our children and grandchildren the same thing that we were told time and time again, “It’s not about receiving but about giving that counts.” And many of us will go out of our way this holiday season to help those less fortunate than ourselves by making monetary donations, buying and contributing gifts, visiting the sick, serving meals and performing a number of other charitable acts.

Well, as you celebrate, consider this fact. There is currently a foster home crisis, especially in the minority community. Simply put--there are not enough foster homes to serve the number of children in DSS (Department of Social Services) custody. According to Arlene Smith, DSS Area Director, “On a night-to-night basis, there is a need to place 25-30 children, including newborns.” The average length of placement is generally short-term--from three to six months--since DSS must make a permanent plan for the child within 9-12 months. The long-term placement options are reunification of the child(ren) with his/her parents, adoption or guardianship or placement in a regular licensed foster home.

What does it take to open one’s home to these vulnerable (sometimes bruised and battered) children who are placed in DSS’s custody either by a court or sometimes on a voluntary basis? Not a lot. First, there are certain types of foster homes: (1) the regular licensed foster home, (2) kinship foster homes and (3) child-specific foster homes. A child-specific foster home is when there is no blood relationship between the child and the family. For example a teacher or a friend might see the need and volunteer to care for a particular child.

Qualifications vary a little between the regular licensed foster home and the kinship and child-specific foster home. Generally, there are space requirements and a safety assessment that is performed on the home; a criminal background check is necessary on all persons living in the home over age 14; you must receive income other than the DSS stipend which is paid solely for the care of the child(ren); there is an eight week training program that is required; and references are also required.

The rewards that come from opening your heart to these children become very evident when you talk to Yvette Duhart. Yvette and her husband are ordinary people. Yvette says that when she was young, she saw the movie, Annie, and wanted to run an orphanage. What she does now is the next best thing.

She has two biological children, Ileah who is 8 years old and Avery who is 6 years old, and one adopted child, Eli, who is 22 months. Eli came to the family at six days old on an emergency basis straight from the hospital, supposedly only for a few days, and he never left. Yvette jokingly says that DSS couldn’t get the paperwork processed fast enough!

In the two years the Duharts have been foster parents for DSS, they have cared for more than 20 children, one for almost two years. And although it can be painful for both child and foster parents when a child who has been with them for any length of time leaves to go to a permanent placement, Yvette makes it a special occasion that the child will never forget.

She throws a big, big party and invites everyone with whom the child has come into contact while they’ve been in their home, and they “send them away with tons of presents, cake and everything they’ve ever got at their house, everything so that they don’t feel that they’re being kicked out or no longer wanted.” In addition, she always keeps in contact with all the children who have left. And best of all, Yvette has recruited her friends to become foster parents, as well.

And so our special appeal to you at this very special time of the year is to consider opening up your heart and home to a child. In addition to the general need for all types of foster homes, DSS would really love some male foster homes and homes that are willing to accept sibling groups, special needs children, teenagers, children of domestic violence and the medically needy. For more information, call DSS at 452-3285.

Call today--right now!n