JAMES SAMARITAN
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Mission Statement
We Support and Empower Children and Families in Foster Care. We provide physical and relationship support from crib to college for children, foster families and transitional youths within foster care through the creation of partnerships with other organizations. Who is a James Samaritan? One who sees the needs of our children and families and responds. We mobilize and equip local communities to meet the critical needs of our foster care and transitional youth, right where they are. We are creating a culture where our most invisible and vulnerable are better supported and empowered. What can you do to become a James Samaritan? Help us inspire others to serve youth and families in foster care.
About This Cause
James Samaritan funds the unmet needs of foster children in our community. This includes providing cribs, beds and bunk beds in order for a child to be placed into a foster home; food and other necessities for foster parents who are low income or live paycheck to paycheck; sports uniforms and fees so foster children can participate in extracurricular activities like other children. We also focus on strengthening and creating healthy relationships. We created a Youth Mentoring Program called Life Network, which serves older youth who are aging out of foster care. The older a child gets in the foster care system, their chance of being adopted decreases dramatically. Each year, around 150 youth in Louisiana, some of them in group homes, will age out of foster care with no family to turn to for guidance, advice, or any form of family support. Without these foundational connections in place, their outlook is often grim. Many of them eventually end up in the justice system or homeless. The goal of Life Network is to connect these youth with at least one caring, adult relationship who can be a support system as they navigate the transition from foster youth to independent adulthood. Having one person to invest in their life can make all the difference. If a lack of transportation is the main obstacle for a youth aging out of foster care, we partner with the Gift-A-Lift Program. They give vehicles to youth 18 or older who is licensed, insured, educated on fiscal responsibility, takes a basic safety and maintenance course, passes a hair test, and meets the nomination criteria. Our Family Center is used to create an environment that will help provide a strong support system for children, families, DCFS caseworkers and other nonprofits in the foster care community. State required visitations with biological parents are now held in our beautiful facility. This non-governmental setting does not re-traumatize the child and promotes healthy connection and bonding for both child and parent. It also creates a safe place to hold community events and parties, which many of these children would otherwise not experience. Our Family Center provides a supportive environment for caseworkers who experience high burnout and turnover for lack of appreciation and support. The Family Center has become a community model for the state where better outcomes can be achieved for this underserved population. In addition to government, faith, business and community partnerships, James Samaritan has a working relationship with several non-profits that serve different segments of the foster care system. Our objective is not to duplicate the services that other non-profits do so well but to compliment them. Some of the existing non-profit relationships include Crossroads NOLA, CASA, NAMI, Children’s Hospital, Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, Northshore Enduring Hope, Saint Tammany School System and Louisiana Foster just to name a few. We continue to identify and work with others that have the same goal to care for these foster children and create a better life for them.