'Big Hearts Closet' Helps Foster Families
DENVER (CBS4)- Denver Human Services is teaming up with a church to provide a valuable resource in the community for foster families.
It's called The Big Hearts Closet in Aurora and it's stocked with new or barely used items foster parents often need, such as:
- furniture
- baby gear including strollers
- baby carriers
- high chairs
- clothes
- toys
- books
When they need something, foster parents can shop at the "closet" for no cost. And can they can then donate the item back to the closet for other parents when they're done. The idea is to support foster parents by offsetting some of the initial costs they may incur when they begin fostering a child or children.
When people find out they're going to be welcoming a child into their homes, they don't have much time to prepare.
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"You don't have any time to get ready… you don't know what age you will take, you could get anywhere from a newborn up until any time before they're 18," said Anita Nobles.
She and her husband Jeff took in two children as foster parents and say a resource like The Big Hearts Closet will help a lot of families.
They ended up adopting the two children, Amani and Tyson, and want people to know that if they decide to be foster parents there are resources out there to help.
"It's not difficult; you don't have to have all your ducks in a row. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be present," she told CBS4's Dominic Garcia.
The idea for the Big Hearts Closet started when DHS employee Darlene Ashley-Jenkins started to facilitate donations between foster families.
She takes pride in connecting foster parents who have never met but support each other. She wants foster parents to know when they accept a child into their home they have support.
To arrange a donation to the Big Hearts Closet call 970-614-8660.