Reunifying families: Why one couple decided to become foster parents
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Colleen and Will Ashley have what you might call a big family. They have 12 children, five biological, five adopted and two foster children.
They became foster parents after hearing from a speaker at their church talk about the need in their community for fostering. Last year, there were more than 500 kids in foster care in Kent County. According to the state, there were around 10,000 children in foster care in Michigan last year.
May is National Foster Care Month and it aims to raise awareness about the role everyone plays in supporting children and families in your community.
The Ashleys said fostering is rewarding and difficult, but that they are proud of what they are doing. They adopted five children after being their foster parents, but Colleen Ashley said adopting was never their intention. They wanted to become foster parents to help the children and their parents, with the goal of reuniting them.
“It’s always been the goal is to reunify the kids back with their families. Anybody can make a mistake. It doesn’t mean you should lose your job as a parent. At the end of the day, it still has to be a community’s responsibility to get these kids back home,” Colleen Ashley said.
The couple fosters through Bethany Christian Services. They recommend anyone interested to learn more here. The Ashleys also said that if you can’t foster, but still want to help, you can donate to foster closets at local churches.
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