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RIVERSIDE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES | 49

Isaiah Haro

Tom and Emma Jackson

As a single parent, Isaiah didn’t hesitate before saying “yes” when he was asked to provide foster care to three siblings for three months. He learned the children in his care had four sisters. The girls were separated in two different homes. Isaiah said “yes” again. “I decided to bring them all together so they wouldn’t be apart,” he says. Of the seven siblings, four still live with Isaiah. He’s helping them see the world with a new vision. “Once kids start believing in themselves, they can do any goals. You can see it in the kids’ eyes – hope!”

When they were dating, Emma wanted to make sure her now-husband, Tom, was open to fostering or adopting a child in the future. Turns out he was. “I have always had a passion for children…How would it be to raise a child who really needs a home?” Emma says. “If you’re thinking about being a foster parent, it’s the most rewarding thing you can do.” Tom agrees. “There is joy in seeing a child thrive,” he adds. “To know a kid was in this kind of condition but now he has achieved a lot – that’s joy.”

Mohan Kanthasamy and Monique Morales

Chris and Christina Keener

Caring for three children, all under age 3, might be daunting for some people. But Mohan and Monique have embraced their foster babies and toddlers as an extension of the blessings in life they’ve enjoyed. “We have been really blessed,” Monique says. “So why not give kids an opportunity to have a better life when they’re going through a hard experience?” The couple say they’ve seen how love can turn timid and quiet children into confident youngsters eager to learn new things in a safe and loving environment. The couple also knows younger children have an easier time being placed. “Teenagers can be more difficult,” Monique says, with her eye on the future. “And we want teenagers.”

Before their foster daughter moved into the Keeners’ home, she’d already started calling them “mom and dad.” Overnight, the parents of three biological children added a fourth. “That’s how much she wanted to be part of our family…There is not an end date …we have four children, and we are so grateful,” Christina says. Hearing their foster child tell him and his wife she loved them “pretty much hit home,” Chris says. “My advice is to let somebody in, just so you know how much more love is available out there.”