Meet the Howell Family!
Jessie and I have opened our home to over 150 children during our years of fostering. We began in Georgia in 2008, where we fostered and adopted our two oldest sons, Ellis and Everett.
After their adoption and the birth of our two biological children, we took a hiatus from fostering. We began again in 2015 after having moved to Florida, and we haven’t stopped since.
Our oldest daughter came to us right before she aged out of care, making us grandparents the day she and her daughter entered our home. As of now, we have also adopted 5 children, 2 brother sibling sets, and then a little girl whose infant sister we are fostering. We have an incredible support system that makes this possible.
Our family recently received a call for a sibling being born of a child we have adopted. We had recently decided to put a hold on fostering more children to focus on helping the children in our home succeed and out of respect to some saying they needed a break. We brought our oldest son in and asked him what did he think about adding a newborn, no pressure to say yes and he simply stated "it’s a yes if it's someone's sibling because we all belong together." Each of our older children came back with their own eyes. We then brought them all together and shared that she was a sibling of Myra, our 3-year-old daughter, she was the only child we've adopted without a sibling (her other siblings are with relatives that chose not to adopt her). They started crying and cheering. Ellis, our 15-year-old son said "I have been praying for Myra to get a sibling. This is our family and it is special but I am so thankful I have a biological brother that is in this whole journey with me- our childhoods are the same and when we go find our family in the future we will be there together. I know you'll walk with us and be supportive but siblings are special". With that, we called the caseworker back and headed to the hospital to pick up our daughter, sister to all our children, and uniquely bonded to Myra our 3-year-old.
Our understanding, education, and overall knowledge grew immensely during our fostering time here in Florida. We have witnessed the heartbreak of children being removed from a family, and the joy of those children finding permanency. Our greatest successes in foster care came during times when we were able to partner with biological families. We understand that home is not always the safest place for a child to return to, but if it’s possible, that is where a child should be. Reunification is vital to the mental, physical, and emotional health of a child. If foster families can partner with the biological family, this brings healing to the child and the family.
We are often asked questions about dealing with racial issues in regards to foster care. Jessie and I are both white, but we have had a variety of children from different backgrounds. We have never cared what race our children were. We see each child as a gift from God. But at times we have seen others care more than we have. We also have seen our two oldest sons, who are bi-racial, experience discrimination. For the most part, this appears to be getting better as our world and culture become more aware of the importance of diversity. We celebrate our differences, and we value everyone.
When we asked our 15-year-old son Ellis about permanency and family, this is what he wrote: I was brought into foster care at the age of 2 and a half years old with my brother who was 18 months. My parent’s home is the first and only home that I went to. My story is different from many others in foster care because I did not go from house to house. I was adopted at 4 years old with my 3- year- old brother. Family is important to me because family means we stick together, we build each other up, and we love each other no matter what happens.
I have seen other kids come in and out of our home and not be able to find permanency. Permanency is never having to worry about being taken away from your family. A child should never have to worry about where they will sleep at night. Actually, a child shouldn’t even have to know or think about what permanency really is.
