Kids, Kids, and More Kids

A bevy of stories about LGBT families of different shapes, sizes, and colors:

• Cathy Drake and Ilene Gottlieb of Cornwall, NY met on a blind date on Mother’s Day three years ago, reported the Hudson Valley’s Journal News last Sunday. They were celebrating not only their anniversary, however, but also the birth of their three sons. (Perhaps next Mother’s Day they should buy three lottery tickets.) It’s a sweet story. Two of the boys are still in the hospital neonatal intensive care unit, though. May they all soon be home together.
• Nique and LaShun Davis-Hall are raising three boys in Seagoville, Texas, two from Nique’s first marriage, and one adopted. They say “No one ever treats us like we’re different. The neighborhood kids come over all the time,” according to the Dallas Voice.
• The Dallas Voice also reports on Leigh Wolfer and Patti Stephens, who have one biological child, two adopted from foster care, and a fifth they are fostering and hope to adopt soon. Their biological child’s father is active in her life and also acts as a “surrogate father” to the others.
• Radio Netherlands tells the story of Aad and Ron Dissel de Boo, who have fostered over 100 children since they first approached the then-reluctant Dutch Child Welfare Agency 25 years ago. Seven live in the house permanently, and the others have lived with them during transitions to more permanent homes. All had suffered abuse or have biological parents who are drug addicts. Now, the two men are working with the Child Welfare Agency to give parenting classes to people who need them, and they have started a foundation called Twee Vaders (Two Fathers), to raise awareness about child abuse and the need for foster homes.
• Shoshana and Nann Phoenixx-Dawn have two foster children in their Oakland, CA home, although Shoshana says “I wish I didn’t have to work and could take in 10 more. If we had more room we would have more kids,” according to the Bay Area Reporter. The article also looks at the general state of the Bay Area foster care system.

May is National Foster Care Month, and while such months always run the risk of making it seem like we can forget about the issue for another 11 months, they also offer the opportunity to educate. The foster families above are only a few of the shining examples of what foster care can accomplish, and why LGBT families must be part of the mix.