ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A Central Florida organization is trying to solve the orphan crisis in Central Florida. The group is rolling out a new model they said will give foster kids a family forever.
Gaybrielle Crawford is the executive director of Love Made Visible.
She entered the foster care system at nine years old and bounced around group homes until she aged out at 18.
“That was an incredibly awful process,” Crawford said.
She decided to turn that pain into my passion. Crawford dedicates her time to helping vulnerable children. She wants better for kids whisked into the system, especially teenagers.
“There’s a huge crisis here in Central Florida for foster homes to serve that particular population. Most people want babies and kids,” Crawford said.
She said 40% of teenagers who are currently in group homes aren’t there for clinical reasons.
Crawford helped launch the vineyard program through the organization. They are creating two of the first foster homes in Central Florida exclusively for teens, during this three-year pilot program.
There will be six foster kids in each home.
Financial obligations like home payments and groceries will be covered by the organization. That way the chosen foster parents can solely focus on the children.
“I want to see them be successful and have all the things I never had in foster care,” Crawford said.
Before the foster families can move in, the empty rooms in the house need to be filled with furniture.
“It’s going to depend on what the community is able to do from a resource standpoint and help us to be able to furnish these homes because we don’t want to give these teens used furniture,” Crawford said.
She’s asking the community to help them reach the $70,000.
A Venezuelan teen landed in a group home after her father died from cancer. She said it felt like she was just trying to survive.
“The bad staff just put you on the spot and make you feel worthless useless,” the teen said.
Crawford later became the teen’s foster parent.
“I was very nervous because I thought she wasn’t [going to] like me but as more we spoke it was more comfortable, more safe,” she said.
Crawford says in Orange County, 20 kids are staying in hotels with case workers because there aren’t enough beds.
“You’re talking about compounding trauma, they’ve just been removed from everything they know,” Crawford said.
She believes family-centered foster homes will change kids’ lives.
“No child should turn 18 knowing that there’s not a place they get to call home,” Crawford said.
If you want to help the organization furnish two foster homes, click here.
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