McKeesport, PA (PRWEB) May 24, 2017
Each May, National Foster Care Month provides an opportunity to shed light on the issues facing these youth and the urgent need to ensure that all youth have a safe and stable place to call home. For the Auberle Foster Care Program, it is a time to celebrate the success of foster care youth and recognize foster parents, social workers, health and human services professionals along with countless others who strive to help youth in foster care lead healthy, stable lives.
One recent story of foster care youth success is that of Laronday W, a 15-year old teenager, who lost his father when he was 11 years old and struggled to develop a close relationship with his birth mother. Laronday was placed in the Foster Care system in 2015. After a slight altercation with another sibling, he was removed from his first Foster Care placement after just one and a half years. Fortunately for Laronday, he found another home but he quickly distanced himself and refused to attend school on a regular basis, so he found himself in need of another foster home. Back in March, Laronday entered his third placement in three years, but for him, this time was different. During the past several months, he has achieved high grades, has 100% attendance in school and is a superb athlete on the football field.
Laronday and many other teenagers in Auberle’s Foster Care program, along with youth and representatives from Three Rivers Adoption Council, Pressley Ridge and Wesley Spectrum, will be celebrated at a special Teen Foster Care Awards Banquet on Wednesday, May 31 at Riverside Landing in Oakmont, PA. Earlier this year, Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families’ selected these four local service agencies to lead a campaign called Foster Goodness, to provide positive outcomes for teenagers in the county’s Foster Care system.
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About Auberle: Since 1952, Auberle has been dedicated to community, strong families and successful youth. Auberle serves over 3,400 at-risk children and families annually in eight counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. Today, we offer 16 programs including preventative and community-based services, with 60% of our clients served in their home, school or in their community. Auberle’s services include residential care, foster care, emergency shelter, in-home intervention, education, workforce development, drug and alcohol and mental health programs. Auberle is a recipient of the Wishart Award for Excellence in Non-Profit Management and was named Agency of the Year in the United States by the Alliance for Children and Families, the largest network of human services organizations in the United States.