>1 in 5 young adults aging out of foster care will become homeless after age 18
58% will graduate high school by age 19, compared to 87% of all 19 year olds
<3% will earn a college degree by age 25, compared to 28% of all 25 year olds
It is clear that there is a prevalent need for service in our social issue in not only the Dallas community, but all over the world. Throughout our trip, we have seen these types of hardships, among others, firsthand. So the question that we strive to answer before, during, and after our trip is predominantly “How can we come together to best serve these children?”
Today was our last day of service, and I don’t even know where to start to explain the emotions running through my heart or the thoughts running through my mind. We began our day again at Jonathan’s Place- a center for abused, abandoned, and neglected children. We had the opportunity to work with the same children from yesterday and grow the relationships that we had previously established. The children at this facility were so hungry for love, guidance, and support. I am overwhelmed with pride for my team as I watched them foster such close bonds with these children in just two short days. I am truly honored to be able to share such rich and special relationships with the children. It was so rewarding and gratifying for me to see the amount of improvement in the behavior of the child that I had been working with over the course of these two days.
In the afternoon, we served at Wesley-Rankin, who we have been working with both indirectly and directly every day. Their goal is to provide resources to children to help them succeed. It was really difficult saying goodbye to the kids we’ve been serving there, but we plan on keeping in touch by being pen pals.
During our group reflection tonight, our team was immediately eager to share unforeseen ways in which the children had touched our hearts. Furthermore, through discussion, we broke down the “why?” behind how the relationships with these kids grew at such an accelerated rate. We identified the specific ways in which we served the children and the rationale behind the specific actions we chose to take. We found that with each precious heart, there is a different need. There is not a “one size fits all” mentality that can be used when serving children with abuse, abandonment, or neglect backgrounds. Within our service, we have assessed each individual child to see how we can best serve them- what s/he needs from us. Whether it was help with homework, a new friend, someone to share their story/feelings with, or just simply a play-buddy, the participants on our trip stepped up to the plate. I say with confidence that for this reason, the relationships between us and the kids grew in a light that radiated positivity.
I have never felt anything quite like the feeling I was left with during our departure at our two service sites today. On one side, I was swelling with happiness for our memorable experience together, but on the other side, I was full of sadness knowing that I would never see these beautiful smiling faces again. Today, we were reminded that although there are differences in the types of backgrounds between the children from each service site, that there are also many similarities. We were reminded that as we live our everyday lives, there is a high probability that we will see a child that has experienced one of these types of hardships. We were reminded that children with all types of pasts enjoy playing and learning in similar ways. We were reminded that most children have very little power in determining the situation that they are in now. We were reminded that each child is important, each child has potential, and each child deserves love. We were reminded that we can make a small but mighty impact.