Buffalo, NY – All month long, Gateway Longview, a community leader in foster care, will be celebrating National Foster Care Month to raise awareness and celebrate the successes of foster care in Western New York. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gateway Longview will move completely digital, highlighting stories of hope through the lives of current foster families on their website and across social media. In 2019 alone, the Gateway Longview Foster Care and Adoption program returned 24 children home to their families.
“In our 130 year history, Gateway Longview as always prioritized at-risk families and orphaned children,” said Carolyne DeFranco, President & CEO of Gateway Longview, who is also a foster and adoptive mother. “Since 1904, when Gateway Longview took in their first child, foster care to support healing families and fostering to adopt has been a priority in Gateway Longview’s vision for the community. We believe in the power of adoption and the impact it can have on the development and potential of a child.”
Gateway Longview will not only be raising awareness for foster care through the lighting of local monuments on May 15th, but will also be featuring educational content online for prospective parents and families to learn more about the process, experience and general concerns of fostering a child.
“Even in this time, the need for foster parent remains great. There are over 1,000 children apart of the Erie county foster care system alone,” said Michelle Federowicz Cope, Vice President of Foster Care and Residential Services for Gateway Longview. “Even though many of us are home, we can still make a difference and take steps towards changing the lives of these children.”
Gateway Longview offers comprehensive foster care & adoption services to support families throughout Erie County. Gateway Longview works to match children in care with safe, nurturing foster home environments where they are set up to thrive. Many of Gateway Longview Foster Care staff are also foster and adoptive parents themselves. For more information on becoming a foster parent, call 716.783.2909 or visit gateway-longview.org/fostercareandadoption.
ABOUT GATEWAY LONGVIEW Gateway Longview is a non-profit human services organization working together to protect, to give hope and to enrich the lives of every child and family served since 1890. Through a trauma informed lens, Gateway Longview cares for nearly 5,000 children and families annually across Western New York through behavioral health, community-based services, residential treatment and special education programs.
Gateway Longview's approach is solution-focused and trauma-informed. Gateway Longview's top priority is safety, as well as the social, mental and emotional well-being of youth and families in care. Staff at all levels recognize that each child and family has unique skills and experiences that make them who they are. For more information about Gateway Longview, please visit gateway-longview.org.
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