HOLLAND, Michigan - As more kids enter into U.S custody, Bethany Christian Services is working to place unaccompanied children at the border with foster families across West Michigan.
13 ON YOUR SIDE spoke to Adam Baker who organizes the transitional foster care program in Holland.
"These kids are coming to this country not because they feel like it, not because they think it might be fun, they're coming because their home was threatened they're way of life was threatened," says Baker. "Bethany looks to fill the gap, to step into that space and to really start this youth journey into the united states with a welcoming, open arms approach."
Many kids that get into the transitional foster care program in Holland, have found the open arms of Kim and Damon. We can't reveal their identify further due to guidelines from the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Right now, the couple are fostering four boys, all from different families. And while they say that things like language are a challenge, they still enjoy the typical family things like cooking dinner and playing board games.
"A typical routine when we pick up the kids is we pick them up, we go shopping for clothes, we go get a bite to eat, we come home we bathe, we go over house rules, give them a tour of the house and let them know our home is your home, as soon as you step foot in our home, it becomes your home," Kim says.
"Regardless of whatever reason these kids are here, they're kids and they need to be taken care of," says Damon. "And we are parents so, we're going to parent them the best that we can and take care of them until they're ready to go on to their next step."
For Bethany Christian Services, success beyond this humanitarian crisis is reuniting the kids with their families.
"Just watching that family be together for the first time in sometimes years is powerful, its very powerful," says Baker. "I encourage every human being whether you want to help or not to really dive into the facts and heartbreaking situations that these kids come from, and move to a place where they don't know anything, they don't have anything familiar to them."
The kids seeking temporary foster care are not available for adoption. The ultimate goal of the transitional foster care program is to reunite the kids with their natural families in the United States.
To learn more about the program, reach out to a local Bethany Christian Services office, or search for a location near you be visiting Bethany.org.
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