Staff report
November is national adoption month and DCCH Center for Children and Families is presenting an event for families who want to learn more about adoption or becoming a foster parent.
The event takes place Sunday, Nov. 15 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the DCCH campus at 75 Orphanage Road in Fort Mitchell.
A Christian institution under the auspices of the Diocese of Covington, DCCH Center for Children and Families provides compassionate care and quality services to address the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of children and families.
The heroin epidemic that is plaguing the region has greatly increased the number of children placed in foster care.
Currently more than 71 percent of the 51 children in foster care placement at DCCH are there as a result of parental heroin addiction and parent overdose deaths. Referrals have risen more than 350 percent in the last 18 months and more than 1,000 percent since 2012, primarily in instances related to the heroin epidemic.
DCCH shared a story of two girls whose lives were forever changed, first by the heroin epidemic, and later through the compassionate care of foster parents:
In the course of one month Jesse’s life would be forever changed. It is hard for adults to adjust to change, so you can imaginee how difficult it can be for a 10 year old girl.
Jesse recalls lying in bed as her grandmother’s cry echoed throughout the house.
The police removed Jesse’s mother’s body from the bathroom floor, another life taken by heroin. That was the last time Jesse saw her mother.
A state worker visited Jesse’s grandparent’s home. There was an anonymous tip that Jesse’s grandmother was also abusing heroin, which proved to be correct.
Jesse and her younger sister, Sara, were picked up and taken to the state office that day, only bringing a small bag of clothes with them.
Jesse and her sister were brought by the social worker to the library to meet the foster parents. Jesse and her sister have never lived with anyone besides family, but on this day that changed. Jesse greeted the family with a handshake, remembering all of her manners, just like her grandparents taught her. Although this experience was difficult for Jesse, she mustered up the courage to reach out to the foster parents, and share with them the foods her sister would eat and the toys she would enjoy.
Throughout this tragic event of circumstances, Jesse shed no tears, not through the loss of her mother, an absentee father, being ripped from her grandparents, neighborhood, her pets, moving into a home with strangers, or transitioning to a new school.
Jesse was determined to stay strong – for her sister. She had a protective stance over Sara because of the earlier neglect.
Jesse was like her mother figure and continued trying to parent her, even while in foster care. This probably helped distract her from the momentous amount of loss she had experienced.
Jesse and Sara have now lived in their foster home for almost six months. Jesse had begun therapy to work through her loss and trauma. Jesse is a straight “A” student and has joined extracurricular activities, such as soccer and gymnastics. Sara is potty training and learning her ABC’s.
Jesse and Sara’s foster parents have fallen in love with the girls. and plan to adopt them as soon as the court allows it.
The foster parents understand the girls’ losses. They encourage Jesse to talk about the birth family and they make special food dishes together that Jesse and her mother used to make. They engage in activities that Jesse and her mother used to do together in remembrance of her.
Jesse is one of thousands of invisible victims of heroin in Kentucky. The state and DCCH receives hundreds of referrals each month of children who need a place to live, due to substance abuse and heroin related issues. These children deserve to feel safe and loved, and have people believe in them just as Jesse and Sara have.
For more information about DCCH or the Meet N Greet, click here or contact Melanie Sell at 859-331-2040 or msell@dcchcenter.org