Local woman shares story of foster child to foster mom

JACKSON, Tenn — May is ‘National Foster Care Awareness’ Month, and local families came together to highlight their experiences being a part of the foster care system.

Youth Villages is all about helping children and families live successfully. One woman explained why fostering a child can be a life-changing experience.

Carrie Daniels told the story about a little girl who grew up to be a foster mom, after experiencing abuse and neglect.

“She was immediately placed in a foster home, in a bone exam she was found to have over 25 cigarette burns to her hands, torso, and thighs,” Carrie Daniels said.

Daniels said the young child’s life would be completely different without the love and support of a foster family.

“That little girl was me,” Daniels explained.

May is ‘National Foster Care Awareness’ Month. Youth Villages hosted an outdoor event, allowing foster families to speak and share their experiences.

“Foster care doesn’t have to have a stigma,” Daniels said. “It’s a positive thing to teach kids to be more than what they ever thought and give them a place to be safe.”

Daniels being in the foster care system almost her entire life, made the decision to foster a child last December.

“My brother was a foster parent and they adopted a couple of kids so I’ve seen it my whole life and always knew this is what I wanted,” Daniels said.

Local families participated in a balloon release, symbolizing how it takes a village to raise a child.

“There is always a child that needs somebody to say, it’s okay if you’re angry or it’s okay if you’re hurt you got a safe place to land,” Daniels said.

Daniels said having a positive relationship with Youth Villages makes fostering easy. “Their always there to answer your questions,” Daniels said. “I’ve talked to many of them on weekends when their not even supposed to be on the phone.”

Although there’s many steps to becoming a foster parent, many say it’s a rewarding experience.

“Having someone to love you and give you a purpose in life and say you can do whatever you want no matter what happened when you were then,” Daniels explained.

Youth Villages will have an an informational session at their Jackson campus if you would like to learn more about fostering. The event will take place June 7 at 5:30 p.m.

You can also visit Youth Villages website for more information about the services they provide.