Helping Foster Kids in Elk Grove

Last week there was a horrific story out of Davis regarding the Families First Facility and how kids in this facility were not being watched and the abuse that was going on that eventually led to the arrest of 13 & 14 year old boys in the rape of an 11 year old girl.

Our website had a discussions about it, Davis Foster Care.  Some of our members have been involved in helping foster kids and had some suggestions on changes and ways things can be improved. One of our members is in law enforcement and offered their perspective on this issue.

Yesterday I saw something online about an organization that is doing something about this right here in Elk Grove.  A local high school teacher, Mike Jones at Monterey Trail High School has helped form Courageous Connections.  There was a nice writeup about the organization in EdSource.  They are helping foster kids in Elk Grove have normal lives.

I posted the story on our website, Supporting Foster Children in Elk Grove, to give an example of how things can be changed and hopefully give people a chance to participate if they want to. Also to help promote this organization to even more people. One of our members suggested contacting Courageous Connections and offering to help. I emailed Mike Jones and invited him to sign up and participate and maybe give us more information on what they are doing. Within a few minutes he had done just that and told us more about what they needed. One specific need was a storage facility of some kind. I was contacted offline by one of our members, Connie Conley, who said she saw the story on our site and contacted Mike Jones and they may have something they can provide. There are other items and things the organization needs.

We often talk about how it’s not the role of government but private parties and charities to help take care of people. This is a chance for those who want to help out whether it’s with money, time or supplies to do just that and see where their donations are going.  Hopefully we can create more awareness of this issue and help this organization and others provide a safe place for kids who don’t have a family to have normal lives.

Doc Souza
Elk Grove Laguna Forums