It’s a new year and we really wanted to work hard this year to make our vision clear! Sometimes we can say our vision, which is to “Inform, Inspire and Intertwine the local church with foster care and adoption” but not everyone understands what that means exactly. Therefore, the next 3 blog posts we will be sharing about our vision and hopefully this will give you a better understanding of our heart behind the vision of One More One Less Project!
In Mark 8:23-25 it says, “And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people but they look like trees walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.”
The Father has given us his Word- the Bible. Much like how a new Christian begins being informed by reading the Bible, when new churches step into the orphan/foster care system in their community it is an entirely new world. Understanding, navigating, and engaging with all aspects of the brokenness of vulnerable children in custody of the state, requires a diligent informing process to mature the church.
Informing is a HUGE part of what we do at One More One Less Project because if we don’t inform people of the crisis within foster care ALL over the world but specifically in North Carolina, people just aren’t aware! If people aren’t aware, how can they do anything?
For us, it starts with opening people’s eyes to what is actually going on, whether that be state wide, county wide or right in your neighborhood!
Let me give you some numbers to help you see what IS really going on in our state!
In North Carolina in 2022, there were 10,246 children in foster care! In 2012 that number was 8,461! As you can see, that number has increased over time!
1,305 of those children are in congregate care, which means they are either living in group homes or institutions.
In one 2022 survey, it stated that 25% (can be as high as 40% in some surveys) of former foster youth reported that they were neglected or abused while in care. This is more reason we advocate for christian foster homes! We desire to bring children from broken situations to hopeful situations, not broken situations to more broken situations! This is not even mentioning the amount of children in care who struggle with depression, anxiety, drug addictions, lack of financial stability and housing options for teens who are aging out, education and employment opportunities for teens aging out, teen pregnancy and sexual abuse.
It is clear that these children NEED the love and hope of Jesus! As we all do!
In 2022 there were around 5,436 licensed foster homes in the state! That doesn’t necessarily mean that ALL of those homes are ACTIVELY taking placements! Some homes still remain active and help with respite care but don’t take long term placements! Some homes keep their license up to date even when their home is at full capacity.
With 10,246 children in care in 2022 and 5,436 foster homes, you can see that those numbers indicate that there are children lined up for families instead of families lined up for children! We believe, at OMOLP that there should never be children waiting for families to want them! But reality is, children wait for families every single day! LOTS of them!
We believe the church has a HUGE role in this according to James 1:27.
Our prayer is that these numbers wouldn’t be sentences you read and then forget about! Our prayer is that these numbers would soak into your heart and that God would move you to bring change and be part of the solution!
One more Christian foster parent is one more child knowing about the hope of Jesus Christ! That alone is the heartbeat of why we do what we do!
So we get the opportunity to speak at churches ALL over the state of North Carolina and INFORM the church about these realities and how they can be a small part or a big part of bringing change to this crisis!
If your church would be interested in partnering with us, please reach out!
