![]() ![]() Years prior, sick with grief and addiction, their father had tried to kill himself. When Nancy mentioned her love of fir trees, which she drew all over her notebooks, Boon rushed them home to show them the acres of fir trees planted on his property.īut Ned and Nancy were afraid. During one visit, they helped Boon at the local food pantry he ran. Ned and Nancy began to see pieces of themselves reflected in these positive role models. Both their great-uncles had served in the military one was a state senator. Many of their relatives in Indiana were leaders in the community. Those are my brother’s grandbabies.”Įdna says one of the most important parts of her job is, “Helping kids rewrite their story.” For Ned and Nancy, who had grown up in abject poverty, surrounded by addiction, incarceration, and homelessness, meeting this new side of their family was life-changing. Immediately, Ned and Nancy’s great-uncle called. Finally, Edna sent them the video from A Place to Call Home. When Edna reached out to them they didn’t believe her, and refused to return her calls. One day, while combing through their extended family tree, Edna discovered that their biological grandfather, who had passed away years ago, had surviving siblings in Indiana. The children were featured on A Place to Call Home, and Edna began searching for their forever family. Years of neglect and struggles at home meant they could barely pay attention in class or keep up with their healthy, cared-for peers. They had very little family in the community who didn’t have a criminal past or ongoing an drug problem. But it would take a special touch to get them adopted. As soon as she met Ned and Nancy, she was able to see what great kids they were. The children lived in horrible conditions for six years before a teacher noticed them coming to school dirty and underfed.Įdna, our Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiter, was immediately put on the case. What no one knew was that Ned and Nancy’s Grandma had her own addiction – methamphetamine. When their Mom died nine years ago, Dad fell apart, lost to grief and addiction, and the children went to live with their Grandma. Like too many children, Ned and Nancy had come into foster care before. The family was adopted by our generous donors for Christmas, which Seth and Ella spent playing with their new “brothers and sisters.” Reba was also worried about Ella and Seth not having enough clothes, so Mike made sure that they got several outfits from our Resource clothing closet. He also ensured that both kids were assessed for the trauma they had gone through so they could receive services such as therapy and extra school support. Mike helped Reba get Ella and Seth back in school. Immediately, they’d gone downstairs to rearrange their toys and their rooms for Ella and Seth’s arrival. When Reba had spoken with her children earlier that night, they didn’t even let her finish. She said she would talk to them, see how they felt about it, and call Mike back. Her only concern, she told Mike, was that her three children would be okay sharing their rooms, toys, clothes, and, most importantly, their mother’s attention. For months she’d been thinking about becoming a foster parent, and took this as a sign. Reba told Mike how she had been physically abused in the same way as Ella, and had spent time in foster care. When Mike met Reba, the first thing she said was that she wanted her cousins. But Mike kept hearing a name, a third cousin to Ella and Seth who had three kids already, but might be able to help. One promising lead turned out to have a conviction in his distant past that, despite happening years prior, still disqualified him as a placement option. While most wanted to help, very few had the means to take two more children. Mike quickly found 134 relatives, mostly extended family, who lived in the St. Then Mike, a 30 Days to Family ® Recruiter, got involved. ![]() The child welfare team knew to contact the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition The children were placed with a stranger, far away from their neighborhood, their church, and their school. Overnight, the world they knew evaporated. Four year old Ella and six year old Seth came into care when investigators discovered Ella had been beaten with a belt.
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