Ahead of May, which is foster care awareness month, the Circle of St. Joseph, a new ministry focused on helping foster parents, holds a respite night to give parents a few hours to themselves. Volunteers from multiple church groups came together to host the children — playing games, assembling crafts, providing pizza and keeping them entertained. CLEMMONS — The Circle of St. Joseph, a new ministry of Holy Family Parish, launched its flagship event, a respite night to afford local foster parents a break on April 17.
About a dozen foster parents dropped their children off at the church for a night of fun, pizza and a movie while they enjoyed a few free hours for date night, alone time or a chance to catch up with friends. Youth volunteers from American Heritage Girls, Holy Family faith formation members and Bishop McGuinness High School students babysat, hosted the games and helped assemble crafts with the children.
According to Circle of St. Joseph founder Greta Argenta, these little windows of freedom are a great way to give back to the foster community.
“The parents and children loved it and were asking when we can do it again,” Argenta said. “I hope to start doing these nights on a regular basis, now that we know what to expect.”
The need is great. Forsyth County has more than 270 children in foster care, yet there are only 14 licensed foster parents. Those who are not placed with area families are placed with foster parents in surrounding counties or remain in N.C. Department of Social Services care in group homes.
“It is a huge crisis, and the advocacy and awareness are starting right now, but I don’t think the awareness has been a part of this for a long time,” Argenta said.
For Argenta, it’s not just a governmental crisis but also a Catholic one.
“We can’t rely on the government to take care of children. That is the Church’s job – that is our job.
That is what we do,” she said, citing the example of Church-run orphanages from decades ago. “Once they stopped doing that, I feel like we forgot the importance of taking care of the orphans and the children left behind.”
The Circle of St. Joseph ministry, named after Jesus’ foster father Joseph, steps in to provide prayer, donations and serve as a Catholic connection to Argenta’s larger non-profit, Fostering Families Resource Center. That organization assists foster parents in Winston-Salem with basic needs and meals and hosts events to support families and social service workers.
Argenta, a mother of five – three biological and two adopted foster children – has been involved with the foster care network for the past 20 years.
“I feel like God gave that to me. The foster community has always been on my heart,” she said. “Even when I was a kid, I used to play Annie and pretended I had my own orphanage. It is a calling I always had.”
— Lisa Geraci
More online
At www.ffrcnc.org: Learn more about the Fostering Families Resource Center