Four Sisters - One Family
Four sisters ages 9-16, chronic homelessness, mental and physical abuse, and a mom struggling with drug addiction. They moved in with their Aunt and Uncle who were also trapped in addiction and abusive behaviors. Is this possibly a real story? Happening here in Denver? It is real and these brave young girls are fighting their way back from a situation they didn’t choose - that no one would choose or want.
Rebecca, Savio’s Child Placement Agency coordinator, picked up this case from a county director who had called her to beg that she take this on the challenge of these girls. The county knew Savio, namely Rebecca and her team, were the only ones who could give these girls what they needed. Even after years of seeing so many seemingly unreal stories, even for Rebecca, this was an incredibly sad situation. These sisters needed an immediate foster home. Their mother had long struggled with drug addiction and the family barely survived it. They alternated between living on the streets, with relatives, and motel rooms. Their mother tried to get sober but wasn’t able to maintain it for long. The only thing that remained constant in these girl’s lives was the continual mental and physical abuse, as well as insecurity over housing and when they’d get their next meal.
Rebecca’s mind started racing about how to help these girls. She knew they couldn’t take any more loss and needed to stay together. These girls had nothing – except each other. That bond needed to be maintained to avoid more heartbreak for these girls. With over 10 years of experience, Rebecca was all-to-familiar with the shortage of foster homes that would accept siblings. It is hard to find a family to take two siblings into their home, let alone four girls, whose traumatic past had led to mental health concerns. She scanned the information from the county director and read the section of “known mental health problems.” She read that all four girls were experiencing “night terrors” and gulped. She could feel the passion for her job stirring inside of her. She couldn’t help but think of her own daughter who was the same age as Alicia, the third oldest of the four girls.
Happily, the Smith family, who has a long history as an outstanding foster family with Savio, was happy to have the girls in their home. With their chronic homelessness now resolved, it was time for the girls to get to work. Rebecca and the home’s case manager helped coordinate the enormous task of supporting the foster family while they began guiding this family of sisters on their journey of recovery. With the Smiths providing a consistent, loving, supportive, and safe environment, the girls are working hard to triumph over their PTSD symptoms - including the night terrors and vivid hallucinations about being back in unsafe situations.
Since being placed in the Smith’s home, the girls are starting to trust and experience true stability. The home, with the support of Rebecca and the rest of the girl’s treatment team, is encouraging them to find their own voice and who they are as individuals rather than just being part of "the sisters." While they desperately needed each other during the years of trauma, part of the recovery process is bringing out their individuality. Additionally, the girls have regular daily schedules, clear expectations, participation in extracurricular activities (Girl Scouts and dance classes), support around academics, access to healthy snacks when they want them, and 3 meals a day. Everything that may seem like human rights we should all have, and that studies show are critical to healthy physical and mental growth. They also have two incredible foster parents that have consistently shown the girls that they are loved, wanted, and supported, even when they’re having bad days.
Their parents’ rights have been fully terminated, and the foster home is planning on adopting the four girls as soon as it's therapeutically appropriate. No matter what a child goes through, having consistency, support and love in a safe environment can help them find the capability to work through their past hurts and work toward a bright future.
Special thanks to Rebecca Carpenter, Child Placement Agency Coordinator, and her team, for their incredible work with these girls, and the Smith Family for opening their homes and hearts to four girls who needed a forever family.