Page 68 - Wallingford Magazine Issue 56 Autumn 2025

by Beverly Churchill

THE STORY OF FOSTERING FAMILY HOPE

Two astounding ladies, determined and
dedicated to place a child in a loving,
nurturing home. To be one day, taken in
by parents in need of the same. LOVE.
Erin Johnston and Megan Pearson cre-
ated “Fostering Family Hope” focusing
on the needs of today’s foster children.
To enable them the opportunity to
have a life surrounded by dreams, aspi-
rations and respect for oneself.

Knowing there was a need in the sys-
tem, they gave endless hours volun-
teering prior to opening this orga-
nization. A perfect example. Megan
received an after hours call from a local
hospital in need of a foster care situa-
tion, NOW! Time was of the essence
to gather her thoughts, gather supplies
needed to bring this child who was only
two days old into a safe environment.
She immediately went into action,
knowing where and what she needed
in order to take this newborn home.
It was a frantic situation, but she was approx. 1,200 licensed foster parents, The longest time to foster varies. Could
confident. She knew she could count but only 200 houses are open and avail- be a few weeks, a few months, perhaps
on Erin as her supporting network if able. That may be because their home year(s). DCF very much try’s to place /
need be. Job well done! A foster parent has too little space, they may already find homes for these children. Not only
has to realize they need to be prepared have foster children under their care. in CT but beyond our borders as well.
for any situation that could arise in a But fortunately, there are 30 emergen- Keep in mind these kids could very pos-
moment’s notice. cy homes, ready to take in immediate sibly stay for years and eventually be
care of children in distress. adopted by their foster parents. Fan-
tastic! They become melded into the
Normally a child in need of foster care loving home to include other siblings
has been exposed to, sadly, neglect, perhaps, fun loving pets, crazy days of
they many need special medical at- vacationing. Just every day life…… A
tention, homelessness. It is never the dream for a kid to say, I am Home.
child’s fault they end in foster care. It
was an environment that was poorly As you near our lovely historical train
maintained. station, directly across the street on
Hall Ave. is the storefront for FFH. They
Luckily a child has an opportunity to be began this service in 2021 while volun-
placed with a relative before fostering. teering in the DCF location in Water-
Could be an Aunt, Uncle, Grandparent bury. They of course had access to their
as long as they are able to adjust to tak- warehouse. They discovered the storage
ing care of a young one. Perhaps their space within had mounting piles of bins
age would have an influence on the full of clothes! It was an overwhelming
To become a foster parent, one must extent of responsibility they are willing sight to see. Once they began, they re-
complete a licensing class that may and able to give. Some may have not alized they needed a better system lo-
take up to 13 weeks. There are home parented for years. To be able to stay cating clothing especially an exact size!
studies that in addition, would take within a family unit, would be a won- This is when the brain-storming came
another 3-4 months before you are li- derful outcome. Stability. First and to light. YES! After the experience of
censed. In the State of CT, there are foremost, indeed. running to pick up baby clothes, baby

68 WALLINGFORD MAGAZINE - AUTUMN 2025