“Can the Tooth Fairy find me here?” James, age 6, was worried. He lost his first tooth while staying at The Cottage, Wayfinder’s shelter for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect. James had come to The Cottage because his mother, who was struggling with drug addiction, neglected him….
Our hearts go out to you and all members of the Wayfinder family in these challenging times. We hope you are faring well. The COVID-19 pandemic is difficult for everyone, but especially for our most vulnerable clients. Ten-year-old Thomas has nowhere else to go. Born with intellectual disabilities, he lives in a Wayfinder group home…
These are challenging times for everyone. Did you know that with the added stress of COVID-19 restrictions, children may be at even greater risk of abuse and neglect? They need safe, loving homes. Now, more than ever. Please join us for an online orientation to find out how you can become a foster or adoptive…
Adoption Support Mentors Needed in Los Angeles! Join Wayfinder and become a mentor to parents or children going through the adoption process: Parent Mentors: Are you an adoptive parent who wants to help other parents navigate their adoption journey? Adoptive parents who completed the adoption process will partner with parents currently going through a…
Fostering Love Annie used to think that people were foster parents for the money. But when Annie’s cousin became a foster parent and treated the children as her own, Annie was inspired. “I saw so many kids needing extra help,” Annie recalls. “I was in my home by myself, and I thought, how can I…
“She’s my daughter.” — Josefina, Heather’s foster mother Heather has come a long way. The 7-year-old who threw things and hit walls during her tantrums is now an 18-year-old college freshman. Heather’s resilience and intelligence were always inside her. But she needed someone to bring out the best in her. That someone was Josefina, the…
A young boy, Jimmy, was left alone in the South Los Angeles apartment he shared with this mother. Addicted to drugs, she often left him alone. He would regularly awaken to strangers in his home or an empty home without a trace of his mother. Although she always came back, he never knew what to…
Regina is an extraordinary mom. She learned at an early age that she would not be able to give birth to children of her own. But she wanted a family. And she wanted to help children in need. Now Regina is foster mom to three children with special needs: two teenage sisters and a 10-month-old…
“That’s not for me,” Virginia remembers thinking when she heard a radio ad encouraging people to become foster parents. “Then I felt guilty.” She asked God to give her a sign if he wanted her to be a foster parent. “The next day, I saw a great big sign saying ‘become a foster parent’ as…
Did you know…? …the number of foster families in L.A. County dropped from 6,000 in 2008 to 4,000 in 2018. …roughly 21,000 children in L.A. County are in foster care. …up to 80% of foster children have chronic medical conditions or physical, developmental, learning or mental health disabilities. A new grant from W. M. Keck…
