One of the hardest things about working with foster youth is saying good bye. Here at CCPC, our staff and foster parents develop meaningful relationships with the youth we are privileged to serve.
Recently, reflecting on the exit of a longtime CCPC client, CCPC Office Manager Christie Edwards wrote the following words. We hope that this gives you a window into the important work being done at CCPC, and the lifelong impact being made by our staff and foster parents:
As I said good-bye to a well-loved foster youth today, I reflected on the image our world has of “at-risk” kids. We hear about the hole punched in the wall big enough to walk through and we picture Lou Diamond Phillips or all those dangerous minds Michelle Pfeiffer taught. After spending the last 8 years working around the little delinquents, I picture bushy hair and a round face with freckles and a remaining hint of baby-cheeks. I see a boy climbing trees and fighting off the enemies with swords made from sticks and string. I see a girl making glitter cards for all the staff that mean so much to her (that she just met today). I hear a pre-teen’s voice crack, a giggle, the rolling of a skateboard. I see fort building and flirting and dressing up for prom. And today, I saw a boy who wears his heart on his sleeve buying cookies and cards for staff with his allowance and begging them ‘Don’t forget me!’
The reality is, foster youth and at-risk youth are kids! Yes, they will probably shout at you, they might break something and sometimes they spit when angry (just like camels). But they still need someone to take them bike riding and teach them how to fish and tuck them in at night and love them. I am so thankful to all of our proctor parents and staff – they are amazing people and yet none of them look like Edward James Olmos or Michelle Pfeiffer. They are just people who can see through the behaviors and love on kids.