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REBECCA'S STORY

Two years ago, 12-year old Rebecca spent Christmas living in a group home for foster children.  Her Lund Family Center adoption worker was the only person who visited her.  Rebecca’s mother had rejected her after Rebecca disclosed the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother's boyfriend.  Rebecca had subsequently lived with eleven foster families during her short life, but none of them had kept up a relationship with Rebecca after she moved on.  Rebecca was moved from one foster home to another, eventually ending up in the group home. 

Rebecca desperately wanted a family.  She fervently held out hope that she would find a forever family, even as she watched as other children at the group home arrived and left again to live in foster homes or to be adopted.  Because of the traumas she had suffered, Rebecca required a special kind of family, one that would have the educational background and desire to embrace a child with high emotional and social needs.  She was also hoping to find a family that shared her religious beliefs.

Through Project Family, Lund Family Center's adoption partnership with the State of Vermont, Rebecca finally got the forever family she longed for.  Project Family staff approached Rebecca’s situation innovatively.  They advertised on the Internet for a family to meet her needs and reviewed out-of-state home studies to search for suitable families.  Finally, they approached an adoptive family that had successfully adopted another older child.  This turned out to be the extraordinary family that Rebecca needed.  Her new parents, Alan and Tammy, welcomed Rebecca into their family.  They worked diligently to make sure Rebecca felt loved, protected, and supported.  Despite her transient history, Rebecca learned over time that her new parents, brothers, and sisters were committed to love her unconditionally: they were her forever family. 

Rebecca was thrilled when her adoption papers were finalized and she officially joined her new family. She has been thriving ever since.  In her own words,  “On Christmas, [my adoption worker] gave me toys, a book, and a doll.  I loved the book and the doll.  But the most precious thing she gave me was a family.” 

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