In the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic,

Sandra Daniels of Youth in View urges Houstonians to remember the foster care system.

When businesses across the city shut down to slow the spread of coronavirus, families did what they could to make life seem normal and make ends meet. That effort was easier for some than for others. While many Houston families struggled – and continue to struggle even as businesses reopen – the lack of financial and material resources has hit those in the foster care system, both children and host families, especially hard.

Facing unprecedented circumstances, Founder and Executive Director Sandra Daniels has steered the Youth in View nonprofit organization deftly while still confronting seemingly insurmountable challenges and the anguish of those families she serves in the community. Having fostered children in her own family for more than 20 years, it’s a struggle that’s close to Sandra’s heart. She and husband Douglas Umoru founded Youth in View in 2000 after having to use their retirement savings to care for their family, including biological children and foster children. One of the first black-owned organization of its kind in the state of Texas, Youth in View’s mission is to provide families and children in foster care or in need of foster care the kind of support they once needed.

The 501(c)(3) organization’s staff of 15 now has operations in Houston, Dallas, and Tyler and serves more than 60 foster families with 140+ children, many in underprivileged and underserved areas. Youth in View is funded largely through the state, community networking, churches, and other programs, but even in good times, resources are stretched thin. For Sandra, it’s work that is simultaneously difficult and rewarding because she knows it always makes a difference. And now, as Houston struggles to emerge from lockdowns, her work is all the more difficult and important.

“We believe we must work together, sharing both responsibility and accountability for those who cannot take care of themselves,” Sandra says. “Foster parents have sheltered in place with abused and neglected children from hard places and are experiencing the impacts with little support. The impact of being in foster care, alone, while experiencing a pandemic can lead to anxiety for both the parents and the children.”

So, for Youth in View, the need has never been greater. With fewer resources, fewer families can care for foster children, who heartbreakingly sometimes end up in shelters, separated from siblings. Families who have been able to keep their foster children were still faced with the sudden and unexpected demands of distance learning and the lack of technology to support those children’s education. As schools closed, foster families also struggled with the increased demand for child care, food, and other goods.

Youth in View strives to assist these families with support programs and by sending care packages and supplementing the state’s foster care per diem so that families have the means to secure the extra food they need, along with masks, disinfectant wipes, diapers, baby formula, childcare, water, and paper products. Yet as Youth in View provides this additional help, they are accepting children who are being removed from foster families due to the impacts of escalated abuse and neglect during the pandemic.

“Having respite for parents is critical,” Sandra reminds us. “Even parents who are not foster parents are experiencing difficulties during this crisis. They need a way to offload the weight of the responsibility sometimes. Even those who can host kids for just a weekend or provide meal delivery or a gift card can be a big help.”

It’s an issue Sandra is particularly concerned about because she knows that as parental anxiety and exhaustion increases, so do trauma outcomes for children. Sandra also anticipates even more families will suffer loss of income, leading to further disruptions in child placements.

Sandra is saddened to think, too, about the support programs her organization will be unable to host this summer – such as back-to-school events to take kids out for activities, financial literacy programs, trips to college campuses, and other support. This year must be different – and Sandra is working to figure out how to continue to provide that support through all the unknowns. She is staying closely connected to the foster parents she serves to make sure their needs are anticipated and met.

To move forward, Youth in View is innovating. “We’ve been able to operate remotely, and now we’re thinking of new and different ways to support foster care,” Sandra explains. “Doing that helps us connect more deeply with the kids we serve because that’s not an easy bridge to build. We’re working to provide resources and to support activities for kids, like an app that is currently in development, for kids to utilize at home. Our goal is to fully develop and use online training and workshops for kids. We’re also striving to develop branded merchandise to sell in support of our efforts. We’re excited about the track we’re on.”

 What you can do now:

Even with support from daughter Cyronica Lackey, who serves as the organization’s fundraising consultant, Sandra’s job has been especially difficult, requiring her to think on her feet and adjust creatively to make every dollar go further. She’s currently developing partnerships with food banks, requesting donations through the organization’s board of directors, and applying for grants for emergency funding.

But it’s not just funding that’s falling short for Youth in View.

“We are in need of volunteers and donations – but, most critically, foster parents,” Cyronica says. “We’re also seeking volunteer mentors who can train and work to support foster children because we think mentoring will be more important than ever. Any help is greatly appreciated. Even items like teddy bears can help a child during a difficult time. Masks, diapers, cleaning items, and other everyday supplies are greatly needed, too.”

Sandra says those willing to donate, volunteer, or foster can connect with them on their website at youthinview.org or on their Youth in View app.

Knowing firsthand the strength of those individuals in the system, Sandra also wants us to think of foster care in a new and different way. “It takes a village to raise a child. It’s a support system. We also need to challenge our perceptions of foster kids and foster families and realize that the challenges that have hurt them don’t have to define them or their lives.”

More than anything, Sandra encourages Houston to rally not only behind our small businesses and organizations like Youth in View – but behind and in support of foster families and children in every way we can – because, as she says, “everyone just wants to be loved.”