Trending
West Virginia's myriad challenges -- poverty, substance abuse and unevenly distributed resources, to name a few -- have been affecting our children for generations. Measures in place to mitigate the damage done to those who will forge our future are facing their own challenges. As the need grows for families willing to adopt or foster children in state custody, the number of those willing families seems to be shrinking.
But organizations are coming up with new ways to reach out. Mission West Virginia is launching the West Virginia Adoption Resource Exchange. It is a web-based photo listing of Mountain State kids waiting for an adoptive family. Find it at adoptachildwv.org.
"The children featured on this website vary greatly in terms of background, age, gender, and needs. However, all share one thing in common; they are in custody of the state of West Virginia and are eligible to be adopted, but a family has not been identified," WV Frameworks Director Rachel Kinder writes in an open letter posted on the site. "The decision to share photos and youth information on a public website is not one that we take lightly but instead with the belief that the temporary exposure is a lesser risk than that of sending youth into adulthood without the support of a loving family."
These kids have been through so much. And now, they wait. As Kinder points out, they are waiting for a potential family -- they're waiting for a connection that will help them move on to the next phase of their lives. They are waiting to move past the damage that has been done.
"Many in our state are familiar with the numbers that make up foster care in West Virginia, but
not the names and faces," Kinder wrote. "We strongly believe that the community in our state, when faced with the real need, will rise up to meet the challenge and that we will find families for our waiting youth."
Have a conversation at home. Discuss not only if you are willing, but able to provide what these children need. And then, should you decide to move forward, visit the Adoption Resource Exchange. See whether one (or more) of the dozens of children who are waiting touch your heart. They need you. Maybe you need them. And across West Virginia, we all not only want but need better for ALL our kids.