By Curt Williams, Founder & Executive Director
At any given time, well over 80% of the residents of Youth-Reach Houston are boys who were adopted; that is, they come from homes where they were not living with their birth parents, but with a couple who had formally and legally adopted them. Many of these boys are from other countries, while some are from here in the United States. Regardless, and for reasons that we have not yet pinpointed, we have become a repository for boys who have lost their way, and their adoptive home has been unable to help them cope and adjust.
When I hear of couples considering adoption, I am often the voice of caution, if not outright alarm. Adoption is not a concept or practice to in any way be taken lightly. Though most couples go into it acknowledging the chances that it may prove difficult, I can line up a host of couples who could share the horror stories of lives and homes turned upside down by terribly damaged kids being adopted into unprepared homes. Marriages have been destroyed and bio-kids have been alienated by the trials and struggles that families face when that beautiful baby grows up to be an angry and violent teen. This is indeed the part of adoption that few talk about in the rush to adopt, especially those who valiantly choose to knowingly adopt special needs children.
With many infant adoptions, the adoptive parents are only given a vague idea of the influences visited upon the child during gestation. We now know that the umbilical cord linking a mother to her developing fetus not only carries nourishment but also communicates stress, anxiety and fear. Often these moms are single, financially deficient and poorly nourished, and unfortunately, we have found that the rate of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome proves they ingested alcohol during pregnancy. Here at Youth-Reach, the majority of adopted boys we receive have developmental issues and learning disabilities.
All of this is to say … We are set up for this.
Have you ever watched those television shows with stuntmen doing risky things and they state the disclaimer, “These are trained professionals. Please do not attempt this at home”? Well, so often the average private home is simply not set up for the challenges that these kids present. We are convinced, and we have proven, that these kids can be developed into healthy, independent and productive adults, but it takes time and the right influences and environment. It takes constant supervision, which the normal family and home cannot easily provide, and it takes relentless consistency.
So, essentially, what I am asking when I ask for your financial support is this: Would you consider adopting one of these boys yet let us do the hard part? Would you sponsor one of our sons and trust us to do the raising? Would you invest in a boy and believe in us to bring you a healthy return on that investment?
That’s what we are asking for with our Sponsor a Son program.
Thank you for your support of Youth-Reach!
