Equip

Equipping caregivers with support

When a child is placed with a family, they often arrive with just the clothes on their back. Foster families receive little notice before a child is placed with them and must quickly turn their house into a home for a child they have just met. As families and children continue their journey together, other needs arise, including providing therapeutic support for children who have experienced trauma.

Foster Village is here for families every step of the way. Through our resource centers and therapeutic coaching and support, we help equip caregivers so they can focus on helping the children in their care thrive.

Resource Center

At our Foster Village resource center, families and children can get new beds, car seats, clothing, school supplies, toys and other basic necessities – completely free of charge, in a trauma informed and developmentally appropriate environment. Set up to feel like a comfortable, safe and home-like environment, Foster Village Resource Centers help ease the transition into a new home and ensure that children have everything they need to feel safe and cared for during those often stressful first few days.

Project SOOTHe (Sensory Opportunities Offering Therapeutic Help)
Many children entering foster care have experienced a number of traumatic events in their lives while also going through the stress of moving from home to home. Through Project SOOTHe, we provide therapeutic tools such as weighted blankets, swings and white noise machines that can help ease anxiety for children making transitions between homes.

These objects help calm the central nervous system and help little bodies process stress and increase the release of serotonin. Reducing the effects of stress and trauma not only provides comfort in the short term; it also lowers the risk of long-term physical and emotional health issues caused by stress, builds resiliency and helps children thrive in healthy homes.

“Foster Village has been such a huge support in our foster placements! This organization has really made a difference. They were able to provide everything we needed to be able to care for our emergency placements: toddler beds, mattresses, clothes, shoes, a baby monitor, and even put in some fun books and toys into the mix. They were even able provide specific items that they knew the kids would find special to them to help give them a smile at such a difficult time in their lives. And they did all of this in record time when the items were needed most.” – Chantal