Tallahassee
Family is forever, even after we say goodbye.
Wayne and Kathlyn have had to say goodbye 10 times. Ten is the number of foster care children they have welcomed into their home. It is also the number of children who have been reunified with their biological family. And that makes all of the goodbyes worth it.
Wayne and Kathlyn have been fostering children since 2015, and they have learned a lot about themselves and their relationship with God on their foster care adventure. For Wayne, he has learned that saying goodbye never becomes easy, but they both believe that even after the children leave their care, they are still part of the family.
The relationships they have developed with biological parents have been pivotal for the kids in their care, and has also created a lot of empathy within the couple.
“You meet these families, and they love their kids so much, they are just battling their own demons,” says Kathlyn.
The couple sees that biological parents need the love and grace of Jesus just like the rest of us. “We all have our own issues,” Wayne adds. “Everyone needs support, from [biological] parents to foster parents.”
The couple regularly supports and provides intermittent care for two girls they previously fostered so their parents can have time to catch up on work.
The two girls became close friends with another girl currently in their care at the time. “Because she got to know the sisters and their family,” says Mr. Roberts, “she got to see that it can work and that she will get to go back to her biological family, but we will still be present in her life.”
Vote the Roberts-Heilman family for Foster Parents of the Year!
Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. on May 15.