Gay and lesbian adoptive and foster parents are nothing new to Oak Park's Hephzibah Children's Association.
According to Hephzibah's foster care specialist Davida Williams, an out lesbian, about one-third of Hephzibah's families are gay.
'A number of our families are gay and lesbian,' Williams said, who added that she has been very welcoming to gays and lesbians since she started working with foster families 27 years ago. 'We always say 'yes' to help,' she added. 'It takes a village to raise a child, and that's a fact.'
Mary Wessels began Hephzibah in 1897 as an orphanage. She started with two small boys, but the crowd quickly grew. The home—built in the shape of an 'H'—flourished to what it is today with the helping hand of the community. The community continues to support Hephzibah to this day. Some donate their time as volunteers. Others donate money to help enrich the home. For example, a local businessman provides each child with a new pair of gym shoes.
Now, Hephzibah not only serves as a group home providing both short-term and long-term care for children, but also offers day care, after-school care and family-based services such as adoption, reuniting with original families and foster care.
According to Williams, many of the children who come to Hephzibah are 3-12 years old. Occasionally, the organization receives an infant. In most cases, the child returns home.
'The main objective for foster care is to get them back home again,' she said. 'We know the main goal is to adopt, and we can accommodate both. Our main focus is looking for very special people to foster, and very often, adopt.'
Most of the young children at Hephzibah have experienced trauma, and Hephzibah has received its share of media cases. There is short-term care as well as Hephzibah Home, which serves as a permanent residence for neglected and abused children, or kids who have suffered the loss of their parents. However, the organization's philosophy is to give the children everything they need to grow and feel safe again.
Foster care and adoption is very rewarding, especially when it comes to giving troubled kids a safe space. 'some have never been to the zoo,' Williams said. 'But when you get to be the first—wow.'
Williams said that people need to set aside thinking about what they must have missed in the child's life and realize these children will grow and flourish.
'They are like flowers in the way they grow,' she said.
Hephzibah has developed a very unique team to meet the needs of both the children and families, and they have developed programming around the needs to make things work. There's family therapy, weekend programs to prepare the children for foster care, dance and movement therapy, a reading academy at Dominican University to get the children comfortable with the idea of college—everything under the sun that Hephzibah knows helps.
A yellow brick road staircase with Wizard of Oz decor leads to the social workers' offices—a vital part of Hephzibah. After all, the organization wants to provide both the children and families with everything they need to grow and thrive.
'This is the first place they have felt safe in their little lives,' Williams said as she showed off the colorful storybook themed bedrooms and mural-covered walls of Hephzibah's group home. 'Our mission, our philosophy, is to give them what they need.'
'I've watched these children grow up,' Williams said as she flipped through photo albums documenting years of sibling camps and field trips.
As adults, many of Hephzibah's children have returned to the first place that provided them with a safe and nurturing space as staff members or volunteer. For them, the H-shaped building also stands for happiness, healing and hope.
For those considering foster care or adoption, Williams suggests becoming a volunteer at Hephzibah. Gays and lesbians can also enroll in the Journey program, where those interested can observe the children in their milieu. There are also various workshops and other opportunities for those contemplating forming a family to receive the information they need.
Hephzibah is licensed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services as a Child Welfare Agency, Group Home ( the Residence ) , Child Care Institution ( the Shelter ) , and Day Care Center. Each of its nine day care locations holds its own license and each Day Care license is renewable every three years.
Hephzibah receives funding from a variety of public and private sources, including the Oak Park and River Forest Mental Health Boards; the Oak Park and River Forest Township Youth Services; the Suburban United Way/Community Chest of Oak Park and River Forest; the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services; the Department of Human Services, the Department of Mental Health and its own fund raising activities.
Hephzibah is located at 946 North Blvd. in Oak Park. For more information, call 708-386-8417 or visit www.hephzibahhome.org .
