'Hardest job you'll ever love': Hope Bridge mission is supporting foster families

JACKSON TWP. − An idea born at a kitchen table has blossomed into a ministry dedicated to supporting families that take on the mission of foster care.

Hope Bridge, which operates under the auspices of the Christ Foundation, emerged from conversations in Nicole Bowman's Hartville kitchen with other foster parents, including Lisa Robertson, who now serves as executive director.

Bowman serves as director of foster programming at Hope Bridge, a nonprofit that offers a variety of services and initiatives, including partnerships with local churches; care packages; support for single mothers and foster and adoptive parents; respite care; help for youth aging out of foster care; and resource networking.

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Hope Bridge, Bowman said, also offers support to social workers.

"We see the burnout," she said.

The two women were introduced by a resource worker who worked with both families.

"I was a foster mom and Lisa was a foster mom, and we decided to meet the first Tuesday of every month," Bowman recalled. "Fast forward, we began to realize there wasn't a lot of support."

As the gathering grew, they began assembling "care packages" for foster families, which included such items as diapers, pajamas, and clothing. It's not unusual for a child to arrive at a foster home with nothing more than the clothes they're wearing.

"A lot of it was organic, but a lot of it was relational," said Bowman, whose family has adopted two children and will adopt a third this month. "I just kept being drawn to foster care."

Robertson became a licensed foster parent in 2015.

"Foster care was never part of our plan," said the mom of four. "But God called us to foster care, and we obeyed. Everyone on our staff has been a foster parent."

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Robertson said she's since learned that many of her fellow members at the Chapel in North Canton have served as foster parents. Hope Bridge also has partnerships with Church of the Lakes in Jackson Township, Evermore and Bethany Mennonite churches in Hartville, the Louisville Church of Christ and congregations in Stow and Green.

Robertson said resources for foster families is vital because 50 percent quit the first year if they don't have support. Currently, there is an acute shortage of caregivers across the country.

"The numbers are astounding," Bowman said. "People don't want to foster kids because they think they'll misbehave," she said. "But it's understanding the trauma and things they've been through."

Church of the Lakes Assistant Pastor Jared Priset and his wife have blended a family of three biological children and three siblings whom they foster.

He describes foster parenting as "the hardest job you'll ever love."

"It is definitely a calling," he said. "I love it. I'm very grateful for this partnership."

Priset lauded Stark County Job & Family Services for its foster-parenting training.

"The most traumatic thing a child can experience is being removed from their home," he said.

Last month, Susan Bennett, a member of Church of the Lakes and former foster parent, organized a fundraiser for Hope Bridge that generated more than $8,000.

Julia Fabich, a Canton City Schools teacher who's in the process becoming a foster parent, recently started Care & Connect, a new foster-family support group at Church of the Lakes that meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the second Monday of every month. Food and child care are provided.

"I see it as a teacher; the need is there," she said.

'Step into the messy'

Fabich said her goal is to make Church of the Lakes, which already offers some respite care for families, as the go-to place for support. In the summer, the church sponsors a Royal Family Kids Camp for foster children ages 7 to 11.

"As a teacher, I have strong class management because I understand," she said. "I have a space (in class) to give them a moment."

Bowman and Robertson, who also co-host a podcast called "ReStoried," encourage other churches to consider becoming a partner with Hope Bridge, which soon will move into the new Christ Foundation Compassion Hub being built in Hartville.

"Not everyone is called to be a foster parent," Bowman said. "It's a hard thing to step into. But everyone is called to do something."

Bowman said it's important that people have the proper perspective.

"If you do it for selfish reasons, you're not going to last," she said. "It takes time and effort. We like to say that 'we need people willing to step into the messy.'"

To learn more, visit www.hopebridgeohio.org; check out the group on Facebook; or call 330-877-2612.

Contact Church of the Lakes at 330-499-8972 or visit www.churchofthelakes.org.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Hope Bridge Ministries puts faith into Stark's foster families