Meet Isabella*

She’s not even a teen yet, but Isabella knows what she wants to be when she grows up – a pediatrician or a pediatric surgeon.

Her foster parents and FaithBridge foster care consultant have encouraged her to do well in school and pursue her dream. She recently moved to a new school, though, and some of the girls there made her believe she couldn’t follow her dream – because she was a foster child.

She told her foster mom “Foster children don’t grow up to be doctors”. Her foster mom immediately told her that was a lie, and that she is valuable, important and, with good grades and hard work, would make a great pediatrician

Thankfully, Isabella now again believes she can grow up to be a doctor.

Isabella is the only girl of a sibling group, and was placed into care due to various forms of abuse and neglect. Her older siblings blame her for all of them being placed in foster care. Understandably, Isabella struggles with anger and impulse control. She’s also in her third foster home since being removed.

“Any move is always difficult for a child as they feel nervous and anxious about where they are going. I was able to show her a picture of her new foster parents, explain she would be the only child and that they have dogs – which she likes,” said her FaithBridge consultant.

When Isabella walked into her new foster home she was greeted by her foster mom’s mother – who only speaks Spanish.

Isabella’s eyes lit up as she realized that the woman “speaks Spanish like me!”

She talked to the entire family in Spanish and then looked at the consultant and told her she wasn’t nervous anymore and thought she would like her new foster home.

Isabella is just one of the thousands of children in Georgia who need safe, loving foster homes. Are you ready to say yes to foster care and be one of those homes? Learn more about becoming a foster parent.

*At FaithBridge, we respect the children and families we serve. So while their stories are true, names and images may have been changed to protect their privacy.