 I moved out, but I still live in the neighborhood, so I still see her all the time and we're still very close, and it's good. Those connections are important. Cool. It's really nice having that support. I'm Guy, and I'm a slam poet. I am passionate about writing, traveling, good conversations, coffee, but most of all writing. I love writing. I used to be a child in care. I was really hurting and I couldn't reach out for help. Though things turned around for me when I was 14 and I was living in a group home and I met my mom. From very early on we became very close and she was my friend. I was taken into her home maybe two years after I met her. She helped me realize my potential in life, that I can go places, I can do things. I'm a person, you know, I have potential to be whoever I want to be and I deserve love and care. I wasn't legally adopted, but she is my mom. We had all kinds of ups and downs in that time that we met, but she stuck around. She just kept letting me know I'm here for you. That was the turning point. She believed in me and loved me until I believed and loved myself, which was what changed everything for me. Mitchell always made me feel like I was here to stay. I moved in with Mitchell when I was 11. You've been my biggest teacher and it wasn't always easy. It was good to know that you weren't gonna, you know, just leave if we fought. I wasn't gonna go to a different place because I had already been to a few places before that. I think that's a huge learning for me, was just to respect where you were at and that we needed space sometimes but knew that we could always come back and care about each other, right? Yeah. I was a bit bossy, hey? Expectations. Which is good. Or else I wouldn't have, you know, maybe I wouldn't be where I am today. No, I wasn't pushed with it, so it's good. Cool. What inspired me to go into fostering is my work that I've been doing with children and families in the community for many years. And so I made the choice that I would like to be inviting children into my home. If someone's interested in being a foster parent and are maybe a little bit hesitant because they're a sole parent or they feel like they don't have a lot of experience with children, you're not in isolation. It really is about the expanded family. It is about the community. It's about the social workers, the schools, the community centers, your neighborhood. And of course the people in your life. It's about opening our hearts to kids. My name's Leslie and I'm a mom of three. We're a family of five. And I'm James. I also have three kids. So that's me and this is our house. Yeah. When we got the phone call about, oh, teenage boys, it was like, all right. I found out, yeah, they're family and she's okay, you know. So did you want to call James and see how he feels about it? Get back to me. I'm like, oh, no, no. We'll say yes. She's like, are you? I'm like, oh, no, no. Yeah, no family. Are you kidding me? Like, yes. They're moving in. Yes, we're taking the signs now. They're big bros to our little ones. They're such good role models for her. This is exactly what we wanted to do. It's very important to have First Nations foster homes. There is such a high percentage of First Nations kids in care. This is a passion for us. And so it was even tenfold when it was, wow, like, these are kids from our nation. They've never been placed with family. Didn't have a lot of a cultural connection either. They just soak up so much so quickly. Hopefully at some point in their life, they're going to use what we're trying to give to them. The progress that you can make with these children in such a short amount of time, that makes it all worth it. All these little steps, things that sometimes might seem insignificant to some people. When you look at where they start and where they go in such a short amount of time, it is difficult, but it's got its own kind of gratification. Lots of different people within our family that have a different connection with our kids. That's really important. We celebrate everything, all of us together. It's our lifestyle. We use as much language every day as we can. Whatever we know we use with the kids. And we just sing songs and gym drums. Our daughter dances. I dance. It's more than just song and dance. I'll go into a pot last. A way that you live. The journey has been pretty amazing. That's just the beginning. Yeah. I would say fostering is about connection. And it's about connecting on many levels. These kids community care are going to pull at your heartstrings. Both of us wanted more children. I had worked for a corporation and basically grew very tired of that. And we thought what a way to give back to the community. At the time we really weren't thinking about adoption. We were thinking more just giving back and having more kids in our lives. And that's kind of what started us in the fostering world. We need to see how do I make a good community member out of them. A productive part of society. But you also have to remember that they're kids. And they need love and they need hugs and they need guidance. It's about us as people bringing the best out of them. Where they want to be whoever they are. To anyone that knows in their heart that they wanted to contribute to a child's life. Do it. There's a kid somewhere out there that will connect with you. Believe in yourself and in that child. We had two girls in our home. Both different families. Both of them were in our home with a sibling. Fast forward five, six years. One of them came to work for me. The other one was a straight A math student. It's those things that you see, wow. You made a difference. I've had many foster parents who the foster children come home or come back after 30 years with children of their own. And so then it becomes a grandchild to the foster parent. And they've been back to their biological families. And there's that heart connection with us all, with all families and kids. So if the kids are going back to their biological family, that's what we want. That's our goal. That's our mandate actually to return the kids to their families and know that they're going to be in a good place. If you want to open your hearts to having a child or children in your home we have so many children in care who are needing positive loving kind homes. I think the greatest reason to foster a kid is how much of a difference you're making in the world. When someone is given a chance to make a change, there's a ripple effect. All of the things that I do are because I was given a chance by that one person. I would recommend fostering to increase the value of your life. I can't tell you what it's done for our own biological family. But if you're thinking about it, do it. Don't hesitate, just do it. Talk to people. There are lots of associations out there that you can talk to. Find out more about fostering. There needs to be more culturally compatible families for sure. We need more foster parents. It is a big responsibility to take on a kid, but it is worth it in every way. There's a great change in me because someone put room in their heart for me and I am very grateful for that. I've pursued every dream that I've wanted to pursue and I really am excited for life, you know, before. Things didn't look so bright for me, but it's weird even looking back at that because my life is so incredibly different today. And I'm just so happy now. I'm just really happy.