A Thanksgiving Home for Ohio's Foster Youth
Public News Service - OH
November 21, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio - While many families are able to gather to enjoy the upcoming holidays, this time of year for foster youth can be a reminder of what's been missing from their lives. An annual series of Early Thanksgiving Dinners offers a chance for these children and foster alumni in Ohio to gather and feel welcome.
As a foster child for 10 years, Dylan McIntosh of Cleveland said he lived in 23 different homes. He said these regional dinners are places of peace and comfort for foster kids.
"They don't have the normal resources that a child or teenager with parents that love and care about them has," he said. "There's no financial backing, there's no place to go home for the holidays; there's no one you can run to for love and support when you need it. They're at a disadvantage."
Hundreds of teens "age out" out of the foster-care system in Ohio each year, and McIntosh said they need financial, social and emotional supports to help them lead successful lives.
The Ohio Youth Advisory Board, Ohio Reach and Connecting the Dots are among the programs helping these foster teens transition into adulthood.
Laquita Howell of Cincinnati attended the dinners as a former foster child, and now helps get others involved. She said she's made lifelong friendships with others who have helped her along the way.
"I've had a connection with one of our local foster-caring services and I got a job with them," she said. "It was really nice to see that they not only bring their youth to the Thanksgiving dinner - that they come, and they promote it, so that other kids don't feel left out."
Meanwhile, Saturday is National Adoption Day, which McIntosh said highlights the need to ensure that more Ohio foster children can find permanent homes.
"Foster children are more deserving than they let on, they're more loving than they let on, and they're no different from any other child - they just don't have as much as a normal person, growing up with a family," he said. "They're just left to gamble with it, and hope that the government does it right."
The Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America hosts the dinners. The next is Sunday in Reynoldsburg. Information about the events is online at thanksgivingtogether.wikspaces.com.
As a foster child for 10 years, Dylan McIntosh of Cleveland said he lived in 23 different homes. He said these regional dinners are places of peace and comfort for foster kids.
"They don't have the normal resources that a child or teenager with parents that love and care about them has," he said. "There's no financial backing, there's no place to go home for the holidays; there's no one you can run to for love and support when you need it. They're at a disadvantage."
Hundreds of teens "age out" out of the foster-care system in Ohio each year, and McIntosh said they need financial, social and emotional supports to help them lead successful lives.
The Ohio Youth Advisory Board, Ohio Reach and Connecting the Dots are among the programs helping these foster teens transition into adulthood.
Laquita Howell of Cincinnati attended the dinners as a former foster child, and now helps get others involved. She said she's made lifelong friendships with others who have helped her along the way.
"I've had a connection with one of our local foster-caring services and I got a job with them," she said. "It was really nice to see that they not only bring their youth to the Thanksgiving dinner - that they come, and they promote it, so that other kids don't feel left out."
Meanwhile, Saturday is National Adoption Day, which McIntosh said highlights the need to ensure that more Ohio foster children can find permanent homes.
"Foster children are more deserving than they let on, they're more loving than they let on, and they're no different from any other child - they just don't have as much as a normal person, growing up with a family," he said. "They're just left to gamble with it, and hope that the government does it right."
The Ohio chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America hosts the dinners. The next is Sunday in Reynoldsburg. Information about the events is online at thanksgivingtogether.wikspaces.com.
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