Welcome to the May 2021 foster care edition of Divided Sky’s monthly newsletter! Find out what our family owned business has been up to in Hays County and the surrounding areas.
Our Story
Long story short, we know firsthand the struggles, rewards, heartbreak, and love of those involved in the foster care system. We spent close to a decade grappling with infertility trying to grow our family before we realized our family was already out there. We just needed to make ourselves available to them. We considered private adoption, but it didn’t feel right knowing there were so many deserving children going through a hard time needing a home.
We reached out to TruLight127 Ministries and quickly realized we needed to be a foster family! We powered through our training and, next thing you know, we’re rushing down to San Antonio to pick up a premature baby boy who had been abandoned. It was such a surreal and exciting experience. We loved him in our home for about six weeks before GOD had another plan for him, and he was reunited with his extended family. We were heartbroken, but knew we were in the right place. A little later, we got the call about another little boy and a week after that a sibling set of three girls all needing a home showed up at our house. Just like that our little family of three exploded overnight into a family of seven! Literally, they showed up at 10pm! We don’t know what the future holds, but we will love them passionately for as long as we’re able and pray for them daily.
Without an amazing community of family members, friends, and non-profits it would be tough. However, we have never felt more loved and supported than we do as a foster family. When you realize how much love and support you have, I promise you it’s not as hard as it sounds. If you or someone you know is interested in fostering, PLEASE reach out and we will do anything we can to get you the answers you need. Same goes with infertility, but that’s for another day.
—John & Allison Hardy
Owners of Divided Sky Roofing & Exteriors
What Is CASA?
When a family is in crisis and becomes involved in the child welfare system, a CASA volunteer may be appointed by a judge to advocate for the child.
CASA volunteers advocate for the best interest of a child and make informed recommendations for the child’s physical and emotional well-being to the judge.
A CASA volunteer works to ensure a child’s best interest is being met by:
- Identifying and addressing risks to the child’s safety and well-being,
- Identifying supportive people in the child’s life that they can work with to promote safety and well-being for the child during their time in care,
- Ensuring appropriate physical and mental health assessments are completed and that the child’s needs are understood by the family and everyone involved in the case through a trauma-informed approach, and
- Verifying educational assessments are completed and educational supports are in place
What Is TruLight 127 Ministries?
Our name is our mission, which is to shine truth and light into the world of hurting children by putting James 1:27 into action. We want to provide children with an environment that is full of love, nurture, support and structure. Thus, preventing them from becoming a statistic of hopelessness.
We seek to do this by being their voice in a world that ignores them, supporting them with tangible services to meet their real needs, empowering them with the knowledge and self-esteem they need to pursue their dreams, and supporting the families that care for them.
During 2020, we had almost 950 referrals for kids looking for a safe home; we were able to provide a safe & loving place for 310 of those kids. 258 of the referrals we received, were kids ages 13 & up and the average age of children in foster care was 7 ½ years old. We licensed 66 families to be able to take in foster kids and 23 of those families were kinships; aunts, uncles, grandparents or other family members that took in family members. We ended the year with 48 forever families (adoptions).
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