August 2020 Update

Julie’s Story

Julie’s journey to a forever family has not been easy. She was 12 years old when she entered the foster care system four years ago. Her biological father had passed away when she was very young, and there was little connection with her biological mother.

Since discovering Kidsave, Julie has been involved with the Weekend Miracles events where she met first met Kelly and Delaney. Julie was the first child Kelly and Delaney met at their first Kidsave event. “She was incredibly brave and had the entire table of adults chatting. She prompted us with questions about our favorite movies, for example. When we left that event, we saw Julie and her sister in the parking lot and we waved again,” Kelly says. “We thought it was a sign – and it surely was.”

Julie was hesitant. “Meeting a new family is kind of weird. You have to see who they are and if you trust them enough,” she says. Julie was nervous and still trying to figure out where to go.  She truly missed her siblings who had been placed in different foster care settings.

Kelly and Delaney spent time with Julie at several Kidsave events and began to really feel a connection.   After driving her to one event, they told Kidsave staff that Julie was the child for them.  They were excited, and totally devastated by what happened next.

Knowing that her siblings were now living with an aunt, Julie made an unanticipated decision — to live with her relatives. “I just didn’t want to be alone,” she says. But after some time, Julie began to realize there was no comfort in living with her aunt, and that her choice to do so had not been a good one for her. Julie reached out to Kelly and Delaney to let them know and expressed her interest in getting to know them further. There was an instant reconnection and a feeling of comfort that she had been missing. She made a leap of faith, moving into Kelly and Delaney’s home, and in just two weeks Julie felt relaxed, happy, and finally welcomed into a healthy environment.