Foster mom helps teen girls grow and thrive with Circle of Care
Fostering children is a desperate need across the country. In Oklahoma, one Second Mile Ministry has risen to the challenge.
The organization, Circle of Care, couldn’t do what it does without the help of several volunteers, foster parents, and others who open their hearts and homes to children who need a safe place to thrive as they navigate their young lives.
They shared the story of April Bryant, a foster mom who works with teen girls.
Adapted from Circle of Care:
“You have to give them the leeway to be who they are. You can never expect a teenage kid to be perfect or what you had in mind.” April Bryant speaks passionately about her heart for teenage girls and how fostering teenagers has been both a challenge and a blessing.
In the United States, only 58 percent of foster teens live with a family, compared to 95 percent of children 12 years old and younger, according to a Pew Research study. April is one person who has opened her home to fill this desperate need.
A single mom with two biological daughters of her own, April has been a Circle of Care foster parent for nearly five years. She has since adopted two of the children placed in her home. Chloe was her first placement. She also has a six- year-old adopted son. You might assume that with a full house, April would be done fostering, but you’d be sorely mistaken. She is fostering two more children at the moment.
What motivates April to foster -especially foster teenagers? “I didn’t have a good upbringing,” she explains. Both her parents dealt with substance abuse. “I should have been removed from my home,” she says. But April has turned the hard lessons she learned from her childhood into a blessing for others. “I have so much love, so much knowledge. I believe I can help them succeed in life.”
From navigating school, to finding a job, to earning a driver’s license, April believes she can be there to help them through all the challenges of teenage life. It’s challenging for her, as well. “They’re teenagers, so they’re going to be stubborn,” April comments. “But don’t ever be embarrassed of your foster kids, even when they act a fool.
They’re doing that for a reason, but I’m doing this for a reason. I’m here to help them through it all.”
But through it all, April talks about how rewarding fostering teenagers can be. “I have learned so much,” she says. “I’ve discovered weaknesses in myself and learned new parenting skills.” She encourages others to take on the challenge and bless the life of a young person in need. It’s an opportunity to grow together.
April has made a commitment to continue her fostering journey and to see each placement to the end, keeping foster kids in her home until they are reunified or find a forever home. We are so grateful for foster parents like her who take on the challenges of this amazing journey. To learn more about how fostering could be a part of your journey, visit their website
Circle of Care is one of the extension ministries supported by pledges from churches across the Oklahoma conference. To support the vital work of Circle of Care in additional ways, through volunteering or foster parent support, reach out to them today.