What would it be like to grow up without a biological family? To not have albums filled w
ith generational portraits of similar-featured faces, no Grandma with stories of “your mom when she was in high school”, no favorite Aunt with tales of your dad blowing up frogs as a boy.
For many children in the foster system, this is reality. They don’t have the connection to their genealogical pasts, they don’t have stories of family members with the same outlook on life, they don’t have pictures of siblings with similar features.
Now imagine if, as a teenager, a blood relative was found who wanted to know you, share stories with you and show you pictures of your family. This was the case for Calvin*, who grew up in foster care. Click here to find out how the Hope House’s Family Find program helped connect Calvin to his past…and also his future.
Hope House is a United Way of Clatsop County Partner Agency. Their counselors offer services on a sliding scale for behavioral health, family and community support, refugee and immigrant services, child welfare, aging and independent living and crime victim services.