Success Stories

Eddie’s Letter

          My name is Edward Lewis I am the “Eddie” of Eddie’s House. Eddie’s House is a support system dedicated to helping young people who are aging out of the foster care system. What a lot of people don’t know is that when a child turns eighteen they are, (in most cases) booted out of their foster homes because the checks stop arriving in the mailbox. Now I know this doesn’t seem like such a bad thing, I mean the child is no longer really a child and eighteen is when we set off to make our way into the world, right? Well it’s not that simple for foster kids. First of all most of them have been horribly abused, consequently ending up in a foster home. Once in the home the abuse continually worsens and the child’s care is not a priority. Thus leading to lack in hygiene, clothes, education and even basic people skills, not to mention the ones who are being abused by their foster family(mentally, physically, and sexually.) Foster kids usually don’t have many friends because they have always been picked on for being “different”.

    When foster kids turn eighteen they lack the ability to take care of themselves as normal adults. Most of them end up, locked up, which should not be hard to understand. The foster care system institutionalizes them at an early age (a lot of group homes are the reason for this). It is even harder for young ladies, if you even have the courage to imagine what they have had to go thru just to live. Needless to say a lot of them turn to crime and end up in jail. I say that is our failure as a community, as a nation, as people.

    We at Eddie’s House are trying to change the unmentionable that surrounds foster children because there are no such things as bad children, just bad parents. There’s an old saying “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink,” At Eddie’s House we say if you make that horse thirsty enough than he will drink his fill. That’s what Eddie’s House does, we makes these young adults thirsty for life. So thirsty that they want to go to school, get a great job and become productive members of the community but most importantly be able to provide themselves with a place to call home.

    If you are thinking this problem is to big, know this, I was also in the foster care system and I was brutally abused. As a result of the abuse I have to receive dialysis three days a week for the rest of my life or until I am able to receive a kidney. I was Eddie’s House first success. I wanted to die, I hated my life, I hated myself, but my Miss Sharon McGinley would not let me quit. Therefore, I know that one person can make a difference in a child’s life. I am now doing better and I’m currently on the kidney transplant list.

    I live to fight for children who can’t fight for themselves. Please help us in the fight for our children.

-Edward Lewis

Tiara’s Letter

Eddie’s House, family, my name is Tiara and I am a member of Eddie’s House. I am writing this letter for all of the future members of Eddie’s House to inform you of the changes and chances that have been given to me through the Eddie’s House family.

I was in DHS and Foster Care, I have been to over 12 group homes and more foster families than I can count. I was released from DHS when I turned 18, I did not have anywhere to go or know how to function in the “real world” so I had to do what I did know to maintain a safe place to stay. I ended up in jail and lost all of the little things I did have in this world. After I was released God gave me a second chance, Eddie’s House. Unlike most programs for foster kids that make and set your goals then tell you what they want you to do in order to stay in the program, Eddie’s House asked me what I wanted to do, what my goals where in life and the specific areas where I need help. Eddie’s House looks at every person and their situation to figure out the best way to help no matter what the situation may be. There are a lot of homeless foster care kids with different situations and we all need help in different ways.

Eddie’s House has not only showed me how to take the first step but taught me how to take what I have learned to be able to use throughout life. Just the fact that I wanted to take the first step was good enough. Most programs just hand you what you need to get by, Eddie’s House shows you the steps you must take in order to do things for yourself so you can live and uphold housing, jobs and the life skills that you need to meet your goals. Eddie’s House will support and guide you but it is really up to you in how far you are willing to go to achieve your goals.

I have a personal relationship with not only the staff but the founder of Eddie’s House. I have a key to the Eddie’s House office because I am not a “client” but a “member” of the family. I am equal to everyone in the office, their meetings are not just meetings they could end up being lunch or dinner with the family. Just like you would call a friend if you are in trouble, you can call your new Eddie’s House family and not be afraid of being kicked out because of a mistake or situation that happened in your life.

I guess what I am trying to say is there is no judgment, there is no abandonment there is no time limit for goals because Eddie’s House is not a “hand-out” but a “hand-up”. It is what you put into it and what you take out of it that makes the difference in your life. You can either sit around to collect a check every couple of weeks or you can have no limits to what or where you can go in life. I am warning you, you will begin to dream again, you will begin to see that life is what you make of it and if you don’t work for it you don’t get anything. Because it is your life and your goals you can do what you want to work towards achieving them.

So take the first step and Eddie’s House will take it with you to make sure that you don’t fall. Eddie’s House is on your side, not in front or behind.

-Tiara Parks