Reunification Should Be Everyone’s New Years Resolution

Skookum Kids is not just a foster care agency, it is a reunification agency. 

What does that mean? It means that from the very first moment when kids arrive on the doorstep of our emergency shelters, we are hoping for and working toward a safe return to their family.

“Connection is survival, and that there is always a way to do it safely. ”

We've all experienced first hand what it means to be apart from people we love, and what it feels like to be reunited with them. Because of these challenges, we’ve adapted to meeting babies through windows, taught our grandparents how to use an ipad, converted patios to living rooms, and held happy hours over Zoom. Because of this, we’ve all come to understand that connection is survival, and that there is always a way to do it safely.

Skookum Kids started as a shelter for kids to find safety entering the crucial first hours of the foster care system. With the needs of these children ever-growing, Skookum expanded into a foster care agency, and now continues to serve both as an emergency and long term care option with the hope of eventual reunification, if not adoption. It should go without saying that part of this expansion is because of you. Without you partnering with us, we wouldn’t have been able to grow so quickly. 

As of this year we’ve provided a safe night sleep for over 800 kids in our emergency shelter. And while those numbers are helpful to see the impact you are making as supporters, it’s easier when you can hear from someone directly. In speaking about their experience as foster parents, Jason Manning reflects on their main focus for the children that come to their homes. 

​​“It's equipping them today, loving them today and trusting in their tomorrow. For us, we realize their tomorrow is probably not going to be with us….we invest in their tomorrow.” - Jason Manning. 

Watch the full video below.

Ultimately, what we hope for is: families coming back together safely. And more than hope, we work hard everyday to make that come true. Foster care isn’t designed to be permanent, and because of generous foster parents, licensed social workers, and emergency shelters, just to name a few of the key players, we can work to make this reunification happen. 

Your generosity and kindness make impossible things come true at Skookum Kids everyday. When you give, children have what they need to heal from trauma. When you volunteer, tireless foster families get a break. This work is only possible because of you, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts and let’s take this important work into the new year!

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