Fostering help for foster families

As of Jan. 31, the foster care population within Kankakee County maintained the fourth-highest level in Illinois.

According to Illinois Department of Children and Family Services data, there were 219 children in the county in foster care.

The county trailed only Cook County at 2,208, Kane at 347 and DuPage at 311.

At 219, there are many youngsters in need.

In all, there are about 17,000 children in the Illinois foster care system.

And although there are many households that have opened their doors to help provide for these children, these foster parents also are in need.

There is food to purchase, school supplies to buy, beds to sleep in, clothes to wear and teeth to brush.

The list is endless.

Helping provide those resources is where a recently formed group of foster moms has stepped up to get the word out about the needs of fostering homes.

The answer to the call is Georgie’s Closet, started by Kankakee foster mom Rachel Langlois and then joined by two other foster moms, Mallory Handford and Allie Brooks, both of Bourbonnais.

“We are the first responders in the foster system,” said Brooks, who has fostered four children. “We want people focused on placements. We don’t want them focused on the necessity of dealing with beds, clothing, shoes, body care [products], diapers, car seats and whatever else.”

The foster parents started a Facebook page, Georgie’s Closet, to put out calls for items that people were willing to donate.

This threesome was floored by what happened next. People began flooding their inbox with inquiries on how to help and where to donate.

The group and other volunteers then posted pickup schedules for items that people were willing to part with.

Growing inventory

There are a couple locations where items are cleaned, sorted and made available to foster parents. Because of the overwhelming response, inventory grew.

There is no charge for any item. And not only can the foster parent pick out items, but the children also can shop at the locations.

These children rarely have the opportunity to pick out what they would like to wear or have, Langlois said. Georgie’s Closet provides that opportunity.

Looking across at the shelves of tote boxes marked and filled with items for children from newborns to age 18 – and 21 for children with special needs – Langlois is overwhelmed with the region’s generosity.

“I walk though this sometimes and I just want to cry. It’s so powerful,” she said.

Langlois said not everyone is capable of taking in a foster child, but although it is rewarding, it isn’t easy. It can be stressful. It can be difficult. It can be taxing.

“It’s overwhelming, but in a good way,” Langlois said. “This community is good. It responds.”

The three women certainly have responded. Handford has fostered nine children; Brooks has fostered four.

And with a family of five birth children with her husband Andrew, Langlois has fostered or provided respite care for five children, recently adopting her daughter Georgie, 2, who came to her as an infant foster and inspired the closet’s namesake.

The women do not pretend everything is easy, but at this point in their lives, they can’t imagine not fostering. And they want to continue to help other foster children, too.

They can easily think back to the days of needing clothes, car seats, shoes, socks and toys, buying it all at a store. It can get costly. Some foster parents don’t have the money, and some prospective foster parents back away from fostering because of the potential costs.

And the money paid by the state to foster parents comes nowhere near making a bank account whole.

“If people think the small [DCFS] stipend covers the expenses, they are mistaken,” Brooks said.

‘This is a movement’

Georgie’s Closet allows people to get involved in the world of foster care.

“We want to let the community help us. This is a movement,” Handford said.

As people who have lived inside the world of fostering children, the women know the need for foster care only grows, and so will the need for donations.

As calls from DCFS continue, the agency is seeking shelter for children in the county. The goal is to keep as many Kankakee County children near home as possible.

With items rolling in and more children in need of placement, the women also are on a mission to establish a public location for the clothing and other supplies.

They envision this site not only as a “store” for foster parents, but also a place where people can come together and discuss issues, as well as where potential foster parents can come and learn.

The women envision a space of about 4,000 square feet. They are finishing legal work to become a nonprofit organization.

They would like their new space to be located in Bradley or Kankakee, as they view those municipalities as being in the heart of the county.

They also want a space that can be easily accessed through the regional public transportation system, River Valley Metro.

The joy of shopping

The women all have the same feeling when they relay stories of watching a foster child being able to actually pick out their own clothing: joy.

Foster children often do not have the opportunity to experience that freedom that is taken for granted by so many.

“They can shop,” Brooks said. “There is no one telling them this is something they can’t have. They can pick out what they like.”

Watching the joy cover their face as they get to select a shirt, a pair of pants or a game brings pleasure to everyone.

Life is about small pleasures. That experience could be counted among those pleasures.

“The foundation we are building here is to help others,” Langlois said. “If I was by myself, this would have crashed and burned.”

It would be fair to say that through adopting the eager help of two other foster moms, a family unit has been created. The group of three doesn’t feature any catchy, clever name.

They are simply friends. They are people who came together, united by helping others in need and loving unconditionally.

“It’s the foster world,” Langlois said. “Once you are in it, your heart is on the line.”

Georgie’s has been accepting donations since September and now has a website, www.georgiesclosetk3.com.