Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Vincent.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I always had a love for children, and as a teenager, I would often babysit for friends of the family. I would always be watching someone’s child. I would gather them all together take them to fun places. It wasn’t until I started college is when I had the vision of starting a home for children.
One of my mom’s friends began taking care of my first godchild. He was child number seven. He was born malnutrition and had to have several surgeries, and his biological mother did not want to be involved in his life. We would often bring him to his mother’s home to visit with her and his siblings. One day as he visited with them, we called to let her know that we were on the way to pick him up.
His mother responded, “Don’t worry about coming to pick him up because he is not coming back.” We were devastated, to say the least. He was five years old at that time and would not be returning home. His biological mother did allow us to visit with him occasionally and bring things to him but he we brought one for him we had to bring one for his other siblings as well. This took place for about a year until she stopped the visits completely.
As an undergrad student, I waited table at T.G.I.Friday’s. This was when I met a young girl who needed me to babysit her 4-month-old daughter. She asked, and of course, I agreed. From the day I brought that little beautiful baby girl home with me, I literally raised her until she was five years old. She would often go home to visit her mom, but she was very young and had very limited resources to care for her.
So I decided that I would help her raise her daughter and provide for her. These two children is how it all started, and from that point, God placed a vision in my heart to open a home for children and take care of underprivileged children. I then started watching children for young mothers who needed help and provided them with opportunities that their mothers could not give them.
During and since my time caring for my godchildren, I have been developing a proactive empowerment plan, which has become the foundation for The Homes for Children’s collaborative approach to provide hope and healing.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road as not always been smooth. We have had many challenges along the way.
However, the children that we have been able to reach during the process makes the struggles worth it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The Homes for Children Corporation (HFCC) is a nonprofit organization that provides hope and healing to youth, frequently in custody of the state as they move from dependent, often abusive, neglected relationships into independent, self-sufficient lifestyles.
As 1 out of every 207 children in North Texas is a foster child, the need for assistance is ever increasing. After being removed from their homes due to abuse and/or neglect, foster children often have to start their lives over in a new place at a young age.
The Homes for Children steps in to help make their new life in foster care a productive, nurturing experience, and to ensure that their needs are met. The Homes for Children fulfills the specific needs of foster and at-risk youth when no one else can or will so they are able to have as normal a childhood as possible.
We offer an array of services including:
-Our mentoring programs which inspire and empower adolescent girls living in high-risk inner-city neighborhoods to become positive young women of change in their own lives and in their communities.
There are three programs for children to participate in:
-Refining Youth is our eight-month after-school program designed to increase academic achievement.
-Youth Connect is an eleven-week mentoring program designed to teach relevant life skills.
-Summer Camp focuses on fun-filled summer activities.
We also offer the following services:
Fostering Wishes – Show a foster child or a child in need the hope and love they deserve… from bikes to lessons to laptops and more!…
Fostering Food Project – The project, which receives dough-nations from Panera Bread, aims to engage foster families and families in need in the community.
HFCC Travel Bags – When a child is taken from a home and placed into a foster home, the caseworker arrives with their belongings in a garbage bag. Each time a child is moved, their belongings are most likely placed in a garbage bag.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Not only do I feel that our city is a good place for this organization but it is a good place for every city. At HFCC, we believe that every child deserves love, hope, and joy.
Every year nearly 500,000 children are impacted by abuse, neglect, and trauma and spend time in our nation’s foster care system. It can be lonely, confusing and a bit scary.
Through our Fostering Wishes program, you can send some love to a child who needs it. When wishes come true, kids not only have a chance to just be kids, but they can also make important connections, experience new things and their passion!
Contact Info:
- Address: 410 NW 11th Street, Suite 107 Grand Prairie, TX 75050
- Website: thehomesforchildren.org
- Phone: 682.233.4475
- Email: info@thehomesforchildren.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/Homes4children
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehomesforchildren
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/Homes4children
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