Blog
-
When Belonging Isn’t Guaranteed
For many teens, belonging isn’t guaranteed.It’s something they stand at the edge of—watching, waiting, hoping to find their way in. For those growing up in foster care, that feeling doesn’t simply fade with time. In fact, as they approach adulthood, it can deepen. The system that once held them—however imperfectly—begins to loosen its grip. And…
-
Growing Up Too Fast…and Remembering How to Be Young
People often say that children grow up too fast. Childhood seems endless while we are living it, yet when we look back across the years, it feels surprisingly brief. We are building forts out of refrigerator boxes, climbing trees, or inventing worlds no one else can see. Then, almost without noticing when the shift happened,…
-
Protect the Child’s Right to Play
Play is not a luxury. It is how children process fear, build resilience, and reclaim joy. When we protect a child’s right to play, we protect their right to heal.
-
The Grief of the Witness
When the headlines grow loud, I find myself grieving quietly — not for the story being debated, but for the survivors still healing long after the news moves on.
-
Resilience Rests in Relationships
What looks like resilience in children who have survived trauma may sometimes be something far more complex–and far more fragile.
-
The Mother I Remember: When Pain Distorts Personality
I lost my mom way too soon. She succumbed first to breast cancer and then to esophageal cancer, and her last months were very rough. In her final year, we shared a moment I will never forget. It embodied the mom I loved so much — full of life, funny, and always up for a…
-
The Black Butterfly: How Healing in Relationship Flows Both Ways
A small black butterfly pressed into my hands by a child I came to serve became something far greater — a quiet reminder that love and healing move in both directions.
-
For the Sake of the Children
“Consistent, nonjudgmental love transcends cultures.And when it does,something extraordinary can happen.We begin to see the childnot only as a survivor,but as someone rising,someone remembering who she is,not who she was told to be.” Susan Ernst — Called to Serve, Standing with Survivors and Protecting Children Still at Risk. What I Have Witnessed Working with the…
For the Sake of Children 