Meet the Gagné Family!
In 2002 I met a shy young 10 year old named David. He had been in foster care since his fifth birthday. He was still on probation for a felony and two misdemeanors he received when he was 9 years old! I thought I wasn’t capable of raising such a child being a single dad. My caseworker told me David needed a strong male role model in his life and she was right. David finished his probation in record time right before his adoption so he could have a fresh new start as a Gagné.
Three years later I was married to Aaron, the man of my dreams, when Michael Jr, age 5 months, and Joshuah, almost 2 years old, came into our lives. They are biological brothers with three older siblings who went to another foster home. We kept in touch regularly as we feel siblings should have the right to stay together as closely as possible.
David was doing well. In his junior year of high school, he was taking classes at the local college. His senior year he was invited to spend the summer taking classes at Harvard! By the time David graduated high school he almost had enough credits to be a junior in college. In Florida adopted youth receive free college tuition until age 28. David has taken advantage of that as a full-time student until the age of 29. Who knows what he will do next!
During this time I became a Guardian ad Litem. My first case was a 14-year-old named Stanley whose father from Haiti abandoned him in the US. I mentored Stanley, helping him with school, doctors, dentists, and eventually to get his driver’s license.
When Stanley was 16, I got him his first job in a warehouse. Eight years later he is still working at the same company. After Stanley graduate high school he asked to go find his mother in Haiti. He had not seen her in over a decade. As dangerous as it was, off to Haiti we went. We found his mother who lived on the side of a mountain with no electricity and no running water. We spent 10 days with them. Seeing Stanley so happy to see his family made every sacrifice worth it.
On the way home, Stanley asked me to adopt him. At this point, Stanley was 19 years old, but everyone needs a family no matter how old they are. Four months later Stanley was a Gagné.
Intermittently, Aaron and I took in 12 other foster youth. And while fostering is HARD WORK, the rewards far outweigh the pain and sorrow when they leave.
As a gay couple, we had to hide our love, live in separate houses, adopt as a single parent, etc in order to provide three of our four children a healthy, thriving family. Florida was the only state to have a law in the books preventing gays from adopting. Now, due to religious liberty laws, we are moving backward. Religious foster and adoption agencies around the country that receive federal funds are denying not just the LGBT community from adopting, but other competing religions as well.
Aaron and I have four amazing adopted sons and three beautiful grandchildren. Life could not be more perfect.
