This poem was written and presented by a young person in FCA’s Specialized Foster Care program.
A program, a system
Built on the morals, the goals
The inspiration, the dream
Of helping kids like me
Helping kids like me see
That there is light at the end of the tunnel
Giving us opportunity after opportunity
To escape the closed-off world that we come from
Chance after chance to make new friends
Chance after chance to better ourselves
At the root of all this
Are the saints: the caregivers
The families
The families that nurture our minds and hearts
The families that deal with all of the angst
The families that work so hard to make us feel loved
Sadly, my peers and i
Don’t always show a return of all this effort and love
We just don’t show it
For some, we were taught that showing emotion is weakness
For others, we have a history of accepting love
And getting hurt cause of it
But
We do
We do appreciate you
We do care for you
And above all else we love you
Not because we live in your homes
Not because you provide what we need
But because you’re THERE
All around you show more compassion and support
Than any social worker or therapist could ever
So for all of this
I, on behalf of my peers and my self, thank you
Not just FCA as a whole but for each and every one of the parents here tonight
I thank the saints that taught us what love is