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SAN ANTONIO – Christian Family Church Pastor Rebekah McKay is aware of firsthand the top worth children pay for his or her protection.
“By the time I was 12 years old, I became a ward of the state. There were seven of us. I have six brothers and myself,” stated McKay.
She stated, “We were now protected from our father, but we lost all that was left of our family.”
McKay promised herself she would by no means put out of your mind the place she got here from, and as a pastor, she has come complete circle. She based the Christ Coalition, providing foster care make stronger.
The coalition started as a committee two decades in the past for the Blue Ribbon Child Abuse Task Force.
“To really work with so many churches that provide counseling and provide housing, provide just all types of intervention,” McKay stated.
The undertaking is in point of fact grassroots.
“In the areas where the most removals take place, like in (ZIP code) 78207, we have several churches, and at least five of our pastors have adopted some adopted 17- and 18-year-olds,” McKay stated.
On Nov. 12, she is going to lead her congregation in looking at the national Stand Sunday, which specializes in the wishes of foster children.
On Stand Sunday, McKay can be praying and instructing her congregation at the some ways to help. That comprises adopting and fostering children, however it additionally is helping the households who’ve already taken children in.
“Providing babysitting, providing transportation to doctor’s appointments, helping with extracurricular activities,” stated Nevetta King, the director of Faith-Based Initiatives at SJRC Texas.
SJRC Texas is a foster care organization overseeing 27 counties, together with Bexar County.
“There are more children in care than there are homes,” King stated.
That is a part of the present foster care disaster, particularly for teenagers and sibling teams.
“The children that have suffered the most trauma, they have the most behaviors, and that causes them to have a higher level of care. And so it’s harder to place them. That’s how they end up out of state,” King stated.
“They’re really just lost in a world of strangers and strange places, and so they really lose hope,” McKay stated. “That’s where a large percentage of our youth that don’t have families and a safe place to call home end up in our juvenile justice system, and then they graduate to prison. So it’s just a real horrific cycle.”
Foster children have the most productive results when they are able to keep in their communities with their siblings. However, it takes training and prepared households to make that occur.
“I just really want to communicate the passion and the heart of the child whose heart cries are never heard because they just want someone to love them,” McKay stated.
She is aware of congregations region-wide can in point of fact create that life-changing love.
Head to the organization’s website if you need to take part in Stand Sunday.
There could also be a digital SJRC event this Saturday, Nov. 6, the place the general public can be informed extra about fostering children. To check in, head to the SJRC website.
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