boutell1

boutell1 t1_jczkw2k wrote

Yes! I was going to add respite care as an option too. I became a licensed foster parent last year and at the time I was single. It was incredibly challenging to balance everything with the child I had assigned to me as a solo parent. That child was eventually reunited with their birth family but after that I explained to DCYF that I needed to only do respite care until my girlfriend moves in later this year and then I think we will be able to handle more full time care.

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boutell1 t1_j61e9vd wrote

Thank you for your response, I will be sure to keep up the words of appreciation and acknowledgment. I am definitely in therapy and the breaks between respite cases has been helpful to be able to focus on my mental and physical health. Thank you for everything you did while at DCYF!!

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boutell1 t1_j618vcp wrote

I live in Manchester and became a foster parent last year. I do not have any bio kids and in general did not have a ton of experience with children before signing up. It’s a long story on how I got here but the gist is that I have always wanted to become a foster parent because when I was growing up one of my best friends was in foster care. I didn’t fully understand it then but now looking back I think a lot about how different her life could have been had she not been in the system.

I told DCYF that I initially wanted to do respite care so that I could get my “feet wet” and begin to understand how best to understand children and especially children from challenging situations. I have had 2 kids so far and I have been blown away by the volume of work and expectations put on the workers. We are asking these individuals to be there and help the most vulnerable members of our community and they can barely afford to live their own lives and as you noted in another comment are often put in dangerous and scary situations.

Other than voting and making my interest in DCFY funding clear to lawmakers. What other ways can I help?

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boutell1 t1_j3bunpk wrote

Manch isn’t that bad concidering other cities are much worse. Elm is fun, there is a delicious pizza place further down Elm called Elm House of Pizza. Hop Knot is a cool (I think somewhat new) restaurant that sells pretzel based food, had one of the best sandwiches of my life there recently. JFK for hockey/skating. Def check out a Fisher Cats game. If you like golfing head over to Derryfield. Welcome OP!

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