Hope Heart & Home volunteers honored for community service

By Priscilla A. Greear - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | Hope Heart & Home, an interparish coalition of volunteers determined to uplift children in foster care, has been honored by the Florida Faith-Based and Community-Based Advisory Council with an Outstanding Community Service Award for meeting the needs of the vulnerable.

Presented in October at the Elected Officials, Faith and Community Leaders Award Breakfast at Lexus of West Kendall, the recognition acknowledged the ministry’s efforts to forge collaborations from Tallahassee to Miami-Dade County in pursuit of its veritable pro-life ministry: to uplift Florida's 35,000 vulnerable children in the foster care system.

Ministry members serve as Guardian Ad Litem volunteers, advocating for children in the 11th Judicial Circuit and supporting the young people through abuse, neglect and abandonment. Volunteers also mentor children, recruit and support foster families, host backpack, school supply, toiletry and toy drives and serve on the Florida Foster Care Review board.

Eric Schwindeman, a parishioner at St. John Neumann Church who was adopted himself, conceived the ministry in 2018 after hearing a talk by the CEO of the Voices for Children Foundation.

He commended the ministry’s enthusiastic leadership team, now spread across the 11 parishes in the South Dade Deanery and beyond, who help with everything from hosting ice cream parties for the children to providing gift baskets for the random acts of kindness campaign.

"It was really a recognition of the progress HHH has made on so many fronts. We have a terrific leadership team that excels in community work as foster parents, guardians, mentors, panelists and CarePortal sponsors," said Schwindeman.

The Hope Heart & Home ministry now partners with Catholic Charities, The Children's Trust, Citrus Family Care Network and other non-profits in order to reach more children.

"The collaboration has really taken off and that's because of our involvement with Explore Foster Miami and our introduction to other agencies and parishes," said Schwindeman.

He estimates there are 1,200-1,800 minors in foster care in Miami-Dade County. With the overturn of Roe. vs. Wade, he anticipates more adoptions — and more need for the ministry.

"It's good to have all these people talking to each other: politicians, church leaders, faith-based nonprofits," said Schwindeman. "The potential is there to help even more children and foster families. We just need to seize the opportunities. It's helping these kids out and giving them some kind of semblance of love they don't get otherwise."

 

‘VOICE OF THE CHILD’

Valerie Van Ostran serves as a Guardian ad litem, advocating for a 15-year-old and his 5-year-old nephew. The teen missed a year of school, so she now meets with his teachers to identify needs and advocate for services in court.

"I'm saying, 'Hey, everybody, look at this child and look at what he needs.' My main concern for him is educational," she said. "You're the voice of the child. I look on myself as being their parent."

Van Ostran previously helped a boy who lost an eye to cancer and whose foster parent changed her mind about adoption.

"The trauma for that little boy, changing foster homes and losing his eye, it was beyond words for this 4-year-old boy. But now he's adopted and is with a wonderful lady. He's thriving and great," said Van Ostran, a retired nurse. "I helped him to get the medical care he needed and find the right home."

Mary Walton worked 20 years in the court system and now volunteers as a guardian and on the Hope Heart & Home board. Guardians often know more about the child than the overloaded case manager.

"I'm the voice, the advocate for the children at all the HHH meetings. When they find a foster parent I'm able to help (them) understand the system," said Walton.

Voices for Children CEO Kadie Black said she appreciates the ministry’s help in making sure all children have court representation. Pre-pandemic, Hope Heart & Home hosted trainings for 47 new guardians ad litem. The ministry now recruits them for virtual orientations.

"We also do essential needs and positive experiences for kids and so working with HHH we're really able to meet the essential needs of those kids and plan barbecues and those positive experiences," said Black.

Michael Carrier of St. John Neumann Parish assists with recruitment events to engage more parishioners from across the archdiocese.

"It's about helping people that need help and doing whatever we can do to make things easier for them. They come from hard backgrounds," said Carrier. "Children and foster parents are very appreciative of our efforts and it's rewarding."

Rosie Perez-Lacayo is a Foster Care Review panelist and leads Holy Rosary-St. Richard's recruiting efforts. Another Holy Rosary-St. Richard liaison, Kathleen Nelson Smith, coordinates parish collections to support foster families.

"By giving them help we're saving lives. Standing up for the vulnerable, that is what it's all about," said Smith. 

FIND OUT MORE

• For information visitwww.hopehearthomeministry.com or www.facebook.com/ministryHHH.