Fostering Love
It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure. Becoming a foster family requires a genuine concern for disadvantaged youth, and the willingness to open your home to someone whose baggage may be heavier than you expected.
As you would imagine, the foster home experience can also be as rewarding as it is challenging. That’s evidenced by the fact most foster families end up adopting their foster child. Though that’s neither recommended nor discouraged, it just happens… organically.
A foster adoption isn’t actually the main goal of the program. According to Tracey Compton, Executive Director of Upper Peninsula Family Solutions, “The greatest success would be to reunify children with their birth families, however, when all efforts to do so have failed, placing children in loving homes that will provide permanency through adoption is the next best outcome.”
A Family Affair
Heather and Luke Bell of Skandia, seen above in a family photo, were unable to have children of their own, so, having friends who had been down that road, decided to go the foster route in order to fill the empty seats at the table. As it turned out, after adopting two of the boys they had been fostering, Heather became pregnant and the Bells welcomed their own son, Gideon, into their growing family.
If you’re wondering what a family’s natural children think of the foster arrangement, Heather says, “Gideon absolutely loved every child that came into our home. He called them his friends, and whenever they would leave, he would be very sad and ask when more friends were coming.”
Of course, every family is different, and each child, natural and foster, is different as well. Which means the foster parents have to be all in, with both heart and head, in order to make it work. “It definitely is hard being a foster parent because you do fall in love with these children and you want what’s best for them,” Heather says. “These children are coming with hurt and sadness and confusion and so you need to be there just to really support them and love up on them and bring them into your home like they’re your own.”
And in the Bell’s case, six of those kids they brought into their home did become their own… officially, through adoption. Again, that’s not the primary end game of foster care. “The goal of foster care is not to adopt but to support reconciliation with the parents. And I think if you go in with that mindset, you’ll definitely be more successful as a foster parent.”
It’s not always easy
Compton admits some first time foster parents struggle, particularly if they have children of their own. But, given time, and once a routine is established, the family concept falls into place. “There are a lot of benefits to adding a foster child to the family, which includes promoting compassion and empathy in their children, selflessness, and sharing not only belongings, but their parents.”
The Bells relied on their faith, and the agency’s support system, as they navigated through the process. “We loved these children and their families,” Heather says. “And we wanted to give the children a safe place to be while their parents did what they needed to do to get their kids back.”
Becoming foster parents requires passing background checks as well as a number of other clearances that would indicate a safe and positive home environment. I’ve heard it suggested those same requirements should be in place for anyone planning on starting a family. If only.
You can help
If you’re not in the market to become foster parents, but would like to support the cause, Next Home Superior Living is partnering with Upper Peninsula Family Solutions to raise awareness… and funds, to help support area foster families. Next Friday, at the Next Home office in downtown Negaunee, you can join others from 4 to 7 for a cookout, fun stuff for kids, and the opportunity to donate money, or items, like clothing and diapers, many foster homes need. Find more info here.
Other area agencies that also handle foster care include Catholic Social Services of the Upper Peninsula, Child and Family Services of the Upper Peninsula, and UP Kids. The agency you choose to help facilitate your entry into the foster care program is much less important than your decision to take it on.
Is there a need? Heather says there is. “I honestly had no idea there were so many hurting families and children.” The Bell’s own adopted children plan on becoming foster parents themselves. “They understand how it felt to be in foster care.”
They also understand how it felt to loved, unconditionally, by a very giving foster family.
Arts, Culture, and Community
Someday, somebody can write a book about the arts and culture scene in our fine community. There will certainly be plenty of material. Sounds like a good project for Jim Koski.
Until then, here’s a brief update about what you can expect in the near future.
First of all, this will be the last year of Art Week, the annual summer celebration of our local talent. Tiina Morin, Arts and Culture Manager for the City of Marquette explains. “After ten successful years, Art Week has fulfilled its purpose as a catalyst for community engagement, artistic growth, and cultural collaboration in Marquette. Originally designed as a temporary initiative, it has evolved into a vibrant part of the city’s creative identity, helping to build a strong and sustainable arts ecosystem.” Amen to that.
This year’s Art Week is June 23rd through June 28th. To find out more about Art Week and other A & C happenings, visit MQTCompass for all the details.
A Trail of Culture
The next big thing is the development of Marquette’s Shoreline Cultural Trail & Trailhead. It’s being billed as a Cultural Infrastructure Project for Place, People and the Future. According to Morin, the first phase of the Cultural Trail includes eight Storymarkers that highlight significant local history and a map of cultural resources—serving as both wayfinding and storytelling tools.
You may already be familiar with one of the trail’s installations, the Seven Grandfather Teachings Monument, at the base of the new piers just south of the ore dock. More displays will follow, beginning at the mouth of the Carp River in south Marquette and extending along the lakeshore to Presque Isle.
The public is invited to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Marquette Cultural Trail on Wednesday, June 25th from 11:00–11:30 AM. The event will take place at the Whetstone Brook Storymarker location.
The Head of the Trail
And then there’s the Cultural Trailhead, formerly the Chamber of Commerce building on South Front. The Arts and Culture Office will be moving their operation into that building, once it has been refurbished and prepped to suit their needs.
Nice to see that building put back into use. And it will certainly be a much more visible location for our very active Arts and Culture Office.
The Peter White Public Library, currently the home of A & C, will repurpose the space vacated by that office and continue to operate their popular galleries and public studios.
The word is out
A recent article on Michigan’s Best Facebook page, cited “all the arts and culture in the Upper Peninsula’s largest city” as one reason you might want to visit.
You know what? It’s a pretty good reason to live here too.