The Forgotten Podcast

One of the questions we often hear from those considering supporting the foster care community is, "When is the right time to become a foster parent?" This question can feel even heavier when we talk to individuals who feel the call to become a foster parent but are not married. My guest today is a dear friend and someone who has been a single foster parent for more than five years. Jillian Kellenberger served with us here at TFI for 8 years, and she is what you would call an “energy giver." She is so passionate about people, relationships, Jesus, and is uniquely gifted at caring well for people. Throughout her foster care journey, Jillian has walked through a lot of joy, a lot of sorrow, and has had many tear-filled moments. In this episode, she shares how she decided to become a foster parent as a single woman, the principles she has learned about supporting biological families, her journey through reunification, and some of the beautiful truths she has discovered about God. I know you will be encouraged and filled with hope from her story! Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/jillian-kellenberger-210/

November is often a time when we bring additional awareness to the foster care and adoption community as many churches recognize Orphan Sunday. In honor of that, we wanted to take a moment to talk more broadly about caring for vulnerable children. We want to use this time to renew our passion for caring for the vulnerable in every stage of life including children in foster care, pregnant mothers, and families. Joining me is Herbie Newell, an author, speaker, and the President and Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services. Under his leadership, Lifeline has increased their international outreach to 25 countries and expanded into 14 states. He lives in Birmingham, AL with his wife, Ashley, and their three children. Herbie has been working in the child welfare world for the last two decades. He and his wife share a passion for the unborn, life, and adoption and have a desire to spend their lives advocating for “the least of these.” In this episode, we discuss the importance of increasing awareness, how we can develop compassion for people throughout the foster care and adoption community, the importance of the Church championing care for the vulnerable, and so much more. As you listen in, I hope you walk away with a renewed passion for where you are called to serve vulnerable families! Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/herbie-newell-209/ Get 10% off BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/tfi

You’ve likely heard about trauma, but have you heard of secondary trauma? It’s sometimes referred to as compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and secondary traumatic stress, and it is especially common among helping professionals such as mental health professionals, first responders, and social workers. My guest today is Blake Boyer, a social worker in the field of child welfare. Blake is a wife, mother, and has a masters in social work in addition to being a Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) Practitioner. In this episode, Blake shares her experience as a social worker, the challenging effects of secondary trauma in her field, how she approaches her faith in a government position, how we can support those we know who are social workers, and much more. Listen in! Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/blake-boyer-208/ Get 10% Off BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/tfi

Don't forget! For the month of October, applications are open for YOU to become a TFI Advocate, bridging the gap between foster care agencies and churches right in your local community. This only happens twice a year! Learn more and apply here. I am honored and encouraged by the bravery and honesty of so many of the guests on our podcast. Today's episode is a special one to be able to share. Jody Golston is the biological mother of three girls. As a result of her challenging struggle with drug addiction, they entered the foster care system. Through a long journey of healing and “choosing her hard,” Jody overcame her addiction and eventually even had the opportunity to became a kinship caregiver for her nephews and spend more time with her daughters. She has quite the story, moving from a recovering addict to a kinship caregiver and now an advocate for others connected to the foster care community. Today, Jody uses her experiences to encourage and mentor other moms who are involved with foster care through her support group, Tangled Hearts. Jody's story is one of recovery and restoration after the hardest days of her life, and I encourage you to listen this week. Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/jody-golston-207/

For the month of October, applications are open for YOU to become a TFI Advocate, bridging the gap between foster care agencies and churches right in your local community. This only happens twice a year! Learn more and apply here. “I didn’t know what was happening and for the first few years, I feel like I just disassociated from what was happening.” – Darien Karenbauer It is always an honor to share the stories of those who have experienced placement in foster care in their life. For many children, entering foster care is extremely confusing and can come as a shock as they when they don’t understand how it works, who they can rely on, or where they’ll call home. My guest today is Darien Karenbauer. Darien is a former foster youth and transracial adoptee who spent six years in the foster care system from ages 10 to 17. He experienced two failed adoptions and even lived in a detention facility (because a home couldn’t be found for him) before he was ultimately adopted at 17 years old. In this episode, Darien shares his experience of entering foster care with little-to-no knowledge of how the system worked. Though that experience threw him into survival mode, he would eventually be able to build relationships because someone was willing to invest in his well-being before even meeting him. I am so grateful to be sharing Darien’s story with you! Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/darien-karenbauer-206/

For the month of October, applications are open for YOU to become a TFI Advocate, bridging the gap between foster care agencies and churches right in your local community. This only happens twice a year! Learn more and apply here. If you’ve ever had a dream in your heart, you know there can be a lot of steps to make it a reality. Along the way, you will likely encounter hardships, delays, and doubts. I have a special treat for you today as we have not one, but two guests! Kate Wilson is the Founder and CEO of Foster + Heart, a Non-Profit in Idaho that is dedicated to igniting the community to meet the needs of children in foster care. Even though the journey was long towards realizing her dream, God set things in motion to not only place that calling on her life early on but also see it come to fruition. Secilia “Cece” Bedolla is a former foster youth and team member at Foster + Heart. Experiencing an incredibly challenging and traumatic upbringing, Cece’s story is a story of discovering hope in the midst of hardship. I was so honored to have this conversation and I hope it’s an encouragement to you this week! Listen in as they share how God guided their circumstances and gave them the experience to meet the needs of children in foster care today. Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/wilson-bedolla-205/

For the month of October, applications are open for YOU to become a TFI Advocate, bridging the gap between foster care agencies and churches right in your local community. This only happens twice a year! Learn more and apply here. Friends, please don’t miss this one! Today, I have the special opportunity to share an episode about an aspect of foster care that I originally knew very little about: refugee foster care. If you are unfamiliar with this form of foster care, it occurs when a child has migrated to the United States (often all on their own) and it is unsafe to return to their home country. This can also occur when a child is placed in a refugee camp- listen to hear more about how this works. My guest today is Jamie Bartlett. Jamie is a mom to four biological boys and one adopted daughter. She has fostered 18 children through refugee foster care. Jamie and her husband, Mike, reside in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they started a church plant. And as of this episode, Jamie is one of our TFI Advocates! Her story is touching and inspiring. You won’t want to miss this one! Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/jamie-bartlett-204/ Become a TFI Advocate: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/become-a-tfi-advocate/

For the month of October, applications are open for YOU to become a TFI Advocate, bridging the gap between foster care agencies and churches right in your local community. This only happens twice a year! Learn more and apply here. I love meeting others who are deeply passionate about both the foster care community and the Church. Those are two of our passions here at The Forgotten Initiative as well! Becoming a TFI Advocate starts with filling out an application. However, for each person who takes this step, the journey starts long before that, often beginning with an awareness that leads to action and a deep passion. This is a journey I get to explore with Abby Callison in today's episode. Abby is a TFI Advocate in Mason City, IA and a foster parent as well. Long before she could support the foster care community directly, she was exposed to the importance of supporting vulnerable children through a mission trip to an African orphanage and seeing foster care lived out through multiple families at her local church. In this episode, Abby reminds us of the significant role the Church can have in the foster care community, the unique circumstances that led them to become foster parents, her experience navigating the application process to become a TFI Advocate, why it is important that we identify our unique motivation, advice she would have for people interested in becoming involved, and so much more. Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/abby-callison-203/ Apply to Become a TFI Advocate: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/become-a-tfi-advocate/

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the people I get to meet through this podcast? What a powerful story of resilience and HOPE I get to share with you today! Antonio Grate is a former foster youth who grew up in Chicago. His story includes his mother’s addiction, not having his father in his life, and eventually aging out of the foster care system. Even through all these challenges, the pain has not defined his life. Today, he is a Social and Emotional Strategist, professional speaker, author, minister, husband, and father of four. It’s clear that he is passionate about sharing a message of hope with the foster care community. It is an honor and a true inspiration to have Antonio join me today! Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/antonio-grate-202/ Who Loves Series: https://www.wholovesseries.org/

Are you looking for practical support? Today’s episode is for you. Kayla Moffitt went from zero to five children through foster care the same week that her dad passed away from COVID-19. She describes it as a “brokenness” that she started her parenting journey from, something that has been a core part of her own healing journey. The children they took in were siblings living separated in foster care for the majority of their time in care. Kayla and her husband, Jerad, eventually adopted all of them, many of whom have received psychiatric diagnoses like Bipolar Disorder, RAD, Childhood Schizophrenia, and more. After struggling to navigate the hard moments of parenting and how to support challenging behaviors and actions, Kayla became a Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) Practitioner, which she says truly “saved our family.” In this episode, we dive into various trauma-informed parenting tactics and hope for those who are parenting children from hard places. You are not alone! Get 10% off BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/tfi Show Notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/kayla-moffitt-201/