(KWES) - Being a foster parent can be tough. It's unpredictable. If a child needs a home, likely you will get the call and the child will be there in a few hours. One local non-profit is aiming to alleviate some of the stress to encourage more families to foster.
"Normally, you have nine months to prepare for a kid and you have hours typically," said foster parent and volunteer Jessica Faircloth.
It started as a Facebook group that grew to a non-profit with local churches who volunteer.
"Just a place that we can exchange stuff from family to family and then we saw a need to get churches involved," said Matt Waller.
Thus the Attic Foster Network was born. The goal? To support foster families.
"You get to change that kids life at least just for a short time or forever," said Jen Waller.
The Waller family moved to Midland two years ago. They used to live in a small town where they were the only foster family. It was hard not having a community to help support them.
"We are hopefully providing that through education, through training, just through being a friend, helping each other out," said Matt.
The Attic provides clothes, shoes and toys. They also help with easy meals and classes for first time foster parents.
The Wallers know how unpredictable being a foster parent can be.
"It can be lonely. You can feel like you have that support. But now with this, I feel like there is that support that is stepping up," said Julie Zapata, a foster parent and volunteer.
Through their network, the Wallers hope they can inspire others to foster, so families aren't broken up.
"We want to keep families together as long as we can, as much as we can," said Matt.
If you are thinking about becoming a foster parent or need help, you can visit their website: http://theatticfn.org.
