When you have no other choice;
Have courage!
Quote:
A word from our founder...
For a child in foster-care, it's difficult to feel at home, much less understand the "concept" of home. Home is that place where we can let our guard down, live, laugh, love and feel good about today and believe in tomorrow. It's difficult for a child to believe in tomorrow however, when yesterday's events are responsible for today's uncertainty.
When a child is taken from unfortunate domestic circumstances and placed into unfamiliar surroundings that usually include a strange bed, a strange meal and a house-full of strangers, their very existence becomes one of immense sadness and paralyzing fear, and there is very little that can console a child in such a situation.
Providing warm, welcoming, appealing living environments for children in foster care has been a goal of mine since I was a child in foster care myself. Being surrounded by other children who'd lost everything, including all faith and hope, reinforced my own fears and sadness which ultimately led to my vision.
I believe that if the places we'd been sent to had been beautiful instead of cold, sterile and often prison-like, my young counterparts and I might have been made to feel more comfortable in our otherwise unbearable situation. We might have believed we were in a better place than from where we came. We might even have been able to feel good about our todays, which might have led us to believe in our tomorrows.
I'm saddened when I think of all the wonderful children I knew who ended up in jail and/or homeless and/or dead, because they didn't get the guidance, direction and love they needed when they needed it most, but it saddens me even more that their most innocent days were spent in environments that were anything less than home to them.
In their memory, I'm honored to be involved with an incredibly distinguished group of individuals who have given, and continue to give of themselves, gener-ously and selflessly, in order to make my vision a reality.
With grace and immense gratitude, I thank you all
Claude La Vertu
Claude La Vertu
-Founder-
Where
it
began
