Raise the Future is committed to supporting adoptive families
Raise the Future has been finding permanency for children living in foster care for nearly 40 years. Their Youth Connections Advocates build relationships with the children and explore their whole history to build a community for them. Then, when a child finds permanency, Raise the Future is there to provide support services.
Raise the Future is a leader in the state for teaching Trust-based Relational Interventions, TBRI. TBRI is a trauma-informed, whole-child approach to caring for vulnerable children. It gives parents tangible tools for connecting with their children and helps them heal from the trauma they've experienced.
"TBRI has been a massive thing in our lives," said Jayla, an adoptive daughter.
Garry and Stacey adopted Jayla and her older sister when they were preschoolers.
"Our older daughter lived in four different homes by the time we were able to bring her into our home, so she had abandonment issues," Garry explained.
The issues that Jorja and Jayla faced and the trauma they suffered didn't start to surface until they got older.
"When we went into this we were naive, and we thought, 'Ah, we've raised two great kids. We know what we're doing.' It's a whole different rule book when you adopt," Stacey explained.
Stacey took a TBRI class, and the family had regular visits from a TBRI coach.
"Just all the techniques to keep the kids from what they call 'flipping their lids' and helping us as a family connect," Stacey said.
"We both come from sort of traumatic backgrounds. It kind of helps you process those things as a family and get through them normally instead of everything being crazy all the time," Jayla said.
While the girls had every advantage growing up, they still needed help regulating their emotions.
"I have to leave the room or it will not go well," Jorja explained.
"One of my personal favorites that we learned was tapping, which is like self-regulatory, like tapping yourself, which just kind of helps you calm down from emotions," Jayla said.
Garry and Stacey also had a lot to learn about how to meet their girls' needs.
"It actually goes against what ...sometimes when you're in a really emotional situation, and you want to be really firm and raise your voice, TBRI says to the opposite," Garry explained.
These days there are more good days than bad. Jorja is going to college and working in early childhood education, and Jayla has plans to become a mental health nurse for children.
LINK: A Day for Wednesday's Child
CBS Colorado has been a partner with Raise the Future for nearly 40 years. Join CBS Colorado for a day of fundraising and awareness during A Day for Wednesday's Child on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
