Local Leaders Discuss Foster Care Crisis in Southern Indiana

Evansville IN

26 May, 2022

8:37 AM

Description

By Sarah Kuper, WNIN May 26, 2022 Southwest Indiana is home to at least five foster care support organizations. Each addresses a different need of children in foster care, and they offer help to people stepping up to provide for these children. While not everyone can be a foster parent, organizers say everyone can do something. Borrowed Hearts Foundation – an organization created to help children in foster care and their foster families with necessities like clothing, hygiene items, food, and more. Since 2016, they have helped over 7,000 kids in foster care and eased the financial burden of foster families in Region 16 and beyond. They are able to touch these lives through generous sponsors, caring volunteers, and a free store. We exclusively serve children in foster care and their fostering families. Indiana Kids Belong - equips communities to dramatically improve the experience and outcomes of Indiana's children and youth in foster care so they can thrive in safe, loving families where they belong. Services include producing high-quality videos introducing children waiting to be adopted. The organization developed the "Foster Friendly App". It is a way for businesses to show support for the foster care community by offering discounts on everything from desserts to oil changes. Isaiah 1:17 Project – provides an array of services that are answering long-standing needs in the fostering community and providing children in need of foster care the best chance to know their potential is far greater than their circumstances. Some of Isaiah 1:17 Project's programs include assembling "Bags of Hope" – high quality travel bags filled with necessities, coloring books and toys. The bags give children in transition something that is their own. Foster Care in the US – an Evansville-based organization building permanent housing to address the problem of homeless youth in the area. Volunteers and local businesses support children's future by teaching life skills classes Isaiah 117 House - provides physical and emotional support in a safe and loving home for children awaiting foster care placement. The physical home acts as a safe and comfortable landing place while children await placement in a foster home. To explore more about becoming a foster parent visit IndianaFosterCare.org WNIN is the NPR/PBS affiliate in Evansville, Indiana. We serve Southwestern Indiana, Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois from our multimedia facility located on the Ohio River in downtown Evansville. For the past several years, the recognized quality of our local news has placed us among the best small market radio news organizations in the nation.