When the phone call came in the middle of the night that two young children needed a home, Sandra and Stan Harry didn’t hesitate.
That was five years ago, and since then the Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation couple, have been on a journey of love, labour and lament.
“We felt called to open our home,” said Stan, recalling how he needed to stay up late with the first nations children, then 11 months and two years old, to help them get to sleep, even holding their hands through the night so they would feel safe.
With their own three children raised and living on their own, the couple said they felt compelled to welcome to two children into their family. Having already helped raise a nephew and cared for aging grandparents, helping others is just part of their culture, according Sandra.
“Sliammon is a close-knit community and we know where the hurts and needs are,” said Sandra. “We have compassion and heart; we want to see the best for the next generation coming up.”
Helping their foster children learn to walk, read and do homework, among many other things, the couple said it has been a privilege to watch the two children grow up.
For Sandra, the need to keep first nations children in their own communities is especially great, so they can work to stop the cycle of generations of hurt stemming back to residential school.
“It’s about planting good values in them and giving positive teachings about what home and family all about,” she explained.
October is Foster Parent Appreciation Month and for Angela Skilbeck, resource and adoption social worker at Powell River’s Ministry of Children and Family Development, foster families are more in need of support than ever.
“It takes a lot of energy, a lot of love and a lot of time to commit to other people’s children,” said Skilbeck. “There’s also very small number of foster parents that are serving a large population in our community.”
According to Skilbeck, the number of foster families in the Powell River area has “dwindled” over the last five years, from about 20 to 10 or 12.
“We are in crisis in terms of needing more foster families,” she said, especially in regards to homes for teens with special needs.
While the goal is to keep children in the community and close to their families, said Skilbeck, the shortage of homes means that sometimes they need to be sent away, sometimes as far as North Vancouver.
“We are looking for people who have above-average parenting skills to look after children who have very special needs,” she said.
Adults over the age of 19 without a criminal record are eligible to become a foster parent. Interested parties can call Skilbeck at 604.485.0614.
For Sandra and Stan, there are no regrets regarding their choice to become foster parents.
“You nurture and love them through it all,” said Sandra, “their hurts, pain, whatever they need.”
