When Angels resource parents Chelsea and Matt needed a crib for an infant they were fostering, they posted a note on a Facebook page for foster parents. Within an hour, they had their pick of 10 different cribs from people who wanted to donate. Then there were people from their church and the nonprofit organization Restoration 225 who organized meal trains and offered to babysit. Their friends and family could not have been more encouraging and supportive.
Angels Foster Family Network was also a great source of support for the family. After the extensive training and approval process, Chelsea and Matt were pleased to learn that every resource family has its own Clinical Case Manager. "Our CCM and the rest of the Angels staff have been incredibly supportive to our family. Having someone check in with us weekly has been really helpful. I couldn't imagine continuing our journey as a foster family without the support we receive from Angels," Matt says.
Chelsea and Matt began talking about fostering when they started dating 18 years ago. They met and fell in love while working at the Hotel Del Coronado as college students on summer break. When they talked about a future together, they discovered that although their ideal family size was quite different – she wanted six children; he wasn’t sure he wanted any – they were both committed to providing a safe, loving home for children whose parents needed time to get their lives on track. They agreed that someday they would foster.
Today, the couple has one biological child, Daniel, who is five years old. And they adopted Camila, one of the three children whom they cared for over their four years of fostering with Angels. Adopting a child was not part of Chelsea and Matt’s original plan. The couple went into fostering the way all Angels families do – with the clear understanding that they are providing temporary care and supporting family reunification. Sometimes, however, that is not possible, and Angels resource families are able to provide “forever homes” for infants and toddlers.
“Angels was very honest about the goal of fostering,” says Chelsea. “You are not going to be successful if you go in thinking about fostering as a way to grow your family. You have to understand that these children are not yours and that they already have families who love them.” Matt adds, “If you go in trying to fill a need for yourself because something is missing, there’s potential for greater pain and heartache.”
Many Angels families say that although fostering is hard work, they often get unexpected rewards. This has been the case for Chelsea and Matt. In addition to the outpouring of support they received from their family, church, and Angels, Chelsea and Matt got a whole new branch of their family tree. “We have a close relationship with Camila’s family and host birthdays and holidays with her siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandma,” Chelsea says. “This is what’s best for Camila and we really love her family. We consider them our family too.”
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