The start of something special…
We are so excited to share the Vision of Not Common Neighborhood with you and give you a glimpse into what God is doing in our minds and hearts.
It all started when the desire to become a foster parent collided with the awareness that the foster kid-to-foster home ratio is overwhelmingly high. We reside in the area of Dent, Phelps, and Texas counties. Dent County alone has 70 foster children with only 6 foster homes. In Texas County, there are 16 siblings from three families that are separated because there are not enough foster homes with space for multiple siblings.
South Central Missouri is in crisis. We recently sat down with our State Representative and learned that of all of Missouri, our area has the largest amount of foster children. This is a staggering revelation considering that the population of Dent, Phelps, and Texas is less than 5% of the population of St. Louis or Kansas City but has more foster children needing homes, that are not in existence.
As a team, we knew that we had to take action to meet our community's needs. After researching and speaking with the Division of Social Services (DSS), we discovered Foster Neighborhoods. The simple definition of a Foster Neighborhood is a village of homes where foster parents can take in foster kids, including sibling sets. The community has amenities that many foster parents would not traditionally have access to. An example of a Foster Village is “Coyote Hills” in Harrisburg, Missouri. Some of the ideas we gleaned from them are a large playground, a bike for each child, a basketball court, and a 15-passenger van at each individual home all provided at minimal cost to the foster family. Their community has a small lake, equine facility therapy, hiking trails, and more. Our Foster neighborhood would be similar and have group facilities, with the possible options of a pond, pool, animals, gardens, and more. The possibilities are only limited by our imaginations.
As we toured Coyote Hill, the excitement of providing a location like this to our community was boiling out of us! Since that visit, 22 days ago, a day has not passed without praying, brainstorming, discussing, and making contacts with the aim of bringing Not Common Neighborhood to south-central Missouri. Our goal is to provide foster kids with a “not common” foster care experience. We dream of a neighborhood where our community comes together to make an impact in the lives of foster children while coming alongside foster families to help ease their burden.
What is our plan of action? Glad you asked!
Step 1 - More licensed foster parents
We will raise awareness of the need for more foster parents
We will help those who want to pursue foster care licensing
Connect those with a heart for children but are unable to foster with ways they can support foster children and families.
Step 2 - Not Common Neighborhood Development
We are in the genesis of Not Common Neighborhood, and these are the needs to make our vision a reality.
Land
20 plus acres to build Not Common Neighborhood
Homes
Five bedrooms (plus) homes to comfortably house foster children, including large sibling sets
We anticipate Not Common Neighborhood someday being the home to 5-6 foster families.
Furniture for Homes
Playground, basketball court, etc
We believe that God gave us a vision, took us to a place where this vision is alive and active today, and He will give us the resources needed to make Not Common Neighborhood alive in our area.
This is where you can help! First of all, Pray! Pray for God to supply all of our needs. Second, consider how you can give! Maybe you have land, contacts for materials, a construction company, or a furniture store, or perhaps blessed financially with a burden to help.
We know that it takes a village to raise a child and we want to raise up many children in Not Common Neighborhood, so it is going to take quite the village to make that dream come true. What can you do to be a part of this village?