Latest news with #FaithandFostering
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Building strong men builds strong communities: Faith and Fostering
NBC 6 is proud to partner with the Nell Shehee Foundation on Operation Kindness. SHREVEPORT, La. ( – Since March of 2020, Faith and Fostering has provided a bridge for young people who have aged out of foster care, but don't have the skills to live on their own.'They come in to donated homes. They're entry homes where we're able to form a structured environment for them,' explained Christi Robinson, Executive Director of Faith and Fostering. 'Then we form a case plan and through that case plan they know how to work from the point where they are to the point to where they need to be.''I work with our young men,' said Solomon Waddles, Housing Manager and Mentor for Faith and Fostering. 'So, I kind of oversee the cases for our young men, help develop them, guide them, teach them, train them.'Waddles is a mentor and manages the homes where the young people live. He came to Faith and Fostering after being a youth pastor and seeing the need to be an example for young men.'Faith and Fostering offers something great because they give the young men an opportunity to connect,' said Waddles. 'They have great mentors. They have great men around them to help develop them and sow seeds into them. We can see a change in young men and hopefully change the trajectory of our community.' Tiny homes to offer big support for homeless young women He's seen first-hand how mentoring can change lives. 'One of the young men that we serve, he aged out of foster care,' Waddles recalled. 'At 18, he was living in a group home. He literally got a knock on the door, and they said, 'you have anywhere to go?''After spending time in a shelter, and then on the streets, the young man was referred to Faith and Fostering. Now he has enlisted in the Army and will soon leave for basic training.'To see him be able to endure and persevere and go through all these things and to now, not only be on his way to serve his country but to potentially have an amazing career, it's one of the greatest stories that I've experienced while being a part of faith and fostering,' shared explained how people in the community can continue to help make a difference in more young lives.'Whether it's finances, whether it's your time or whether it's your vehicle for transportation, there's so many ways that you can make a difference.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tiny homes to offer big support for homeless young women
NBC 6 is proud to partner with the Nell Shehee Foundation on Operation Kindness. SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – We've all heard the phrase, 'it takes a village to raise a child.' What happens when that child ages out of foster care? The non-profit Faith and Fostering is providing that answer by building a village of tiny homes to shelter and support young women who have nowhere to go after leaving foster care. Christi Robinson is the founder and executive director of Faith and Fostering and has always had a heart to serve. 'I served women from very hard places being rescued out of trafficking, drug addiction, said Robinson. She said she knew she was being called to even more after a particularly heart-wrenching experience, trying to help two young women who were aging out of foster care who didn't take her advice. 'I was just heartbroken because I was afraid we were going to lose them. And sure enough when they aged out we lost them. So we don't know if we lost them to prostitution or drug distribution or even death,' Robinson recalled. 'We don't know what happened to them.' C.E. Byrd students give back during Centennial Celebration Day of Service She said that's when God led her to create Faith and Fostering. Since March of 2020, the non-profit has provided housing, education, life skills and employment training, to help young men and women ages 18 to 24 become self-sufficient. 'God just started miraculously sending people and resources,' said Robinson. Those resources included a donated home and several acres of land to create what will soon become a village of tiny homes for young women in the program. 'They're going to be 500 to 600 square feet per unit and it will house one person,' said Barbara Lewis, Community Relations Coordinator for Faith and Fostering. 'We will have a couple of units that will be up to 800 square feet and have one bedrooms for a mother that may have a child.' The donated home is now an administration building, which includes living space for the staff members who will live on the property full time. The next phase is to clear the land before building the 18 tiny homes. Faith and Fostering is looking for sponsors. Bossier Parish home provides pathway for homeless young women 'What we would love to see is businesses to donate a unit or a church donate a unit and that could look like they just buy it outright and place the unit here or they can have different people in their organizations come and do work for them,' Lewis explained. 'It really takes a community to solve the problem,' Robinson reflected. 'Faith and Fostering is just one piece of the puzzle. But we need people. If they have a heart for this we have a place for them.' Faith and Fostering will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house on Friday, February 14, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The address is 3248 Bert Kouns Industrial Loop in Shreveport. The public is invited to attend and RSVP online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
