A Place of Hope By John Hutcheson Pastor, Tabernacle Baptist Church
H
ope––so many people looking for it but very few ever finding it because most are looking in the wrong place. They look for it in relationships––both proper and improper ones, material possessions, social status, financial stability, the dream job, substance abuse/addiction, and on the list goes. Hope is not found in any of those things. Hope is found in a Person, and His name is Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13 ESV). Christmas time of year is especially a time when people by the millions are looking for hope. One particular group of those looking for hope is foster children. They’ve been taken away from mom and dad, usually through no fault of their own, and life is hard, especially at Christmas time. Family traditions are gone because their family is ripped apart. They are in a different, and often new, environment. Many find themselves hoping their family will be back together by Christmas, but that is often not the case. Did you know that the State of Georgia has approximately 11,900 children in foster care as of July 2020? That is a 57% increase from 2013. On average, 18 children enter the Georgia foster care system every day. In Rabun County alone, 40
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children live in 12 foster families. Others have been relocated to counties throughout Georgia, hindering family visitations and reunification. Adding further stress and pain to an already difficult life for these foster children is the fact that many loving, trained foster parents experience burnout. It is estimated 30% to 50% of Foster Care families leave the system from burnout, which adds additional stress to the system. These children, and their foster parents, need our help. That’s where Place of Hope North Georgia comes in, and where you can come in as well. Place of Hope North Georgia is a faith-based, non-profit organization providing resources for children who need familial, spiritual, and financial support because of abuse, neglect, or homelessness. Our primary focus is on children and parents in the Foster Care system of Rabun County. It was the vision of Clayton Baptist Church but has expanded to include people from other churches and the community. Clayton Baptist purchased a home adjacent to their property to be used for this specific purpose. Place of Hope (PoH) will offer four main services to foster children and families: 1) Transitional Foster Care for Rabun
