From Fighter to Peacemaker
By the time he was 10 years old, Tony* had been placed in seven different foster homes.
Tony was born into a broken family. His father was abusive, and his mother found her comfort in drugs. Tony was either invisible or the focus of violent anger. After multiple foster families gave up on him, he was sent to live at LYDIA Home.
The staff remembers him arriving as a traumatized and challenging kid. However, the longer he was at LYDIA, Tony went from being the instigator of fights to a mediator and reconciler. The staff never stopped investing in him. They believed that he could have a bright future full of HOPE, HEALING, and HOME.
They were right.
When he was 15 years old, Tony was placed into a loving foster home. Through the counseling and care he received through LYDIA’s residential program; Tony was ready to live in a traditional foster care setting. He has since married, fathered three children, and has his own home. Tony remains in contact with the staff at LYDIA, whom he regards as his family. This past summer, he decided to invest in a child at LYDIA. He began mentoring Michael*, a small and loving 6-year-old boy with past traumas of his own.
While mentoring Michael, a boy with a painful past like his own, Tony and his wife decided to get their foster care license. This past summer, Tony’s family welcomed Michael into their home and became the boy’s foster family.
When a community invests in the lives of hurting children, like Tony, their entire lives can be changed for the better. Instead of repeating the same patterns of his parents, his life was redirected. He was guided by people who were committed to him and invested in him.
*names and personal information have been tweaked to preserve the privacy of the people in the stories.
