Fostering Change

Today’s episode of Fostering Change is an in depth discussion with Susan Rich, founder and president of 7th Generation Foundation, about FAS: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  FAS is close to home to our host, Rob Scheer, as one of Rob’s children has FAS.  And although the diagnosis for Rob’s son was that he may never walk, or even talk, his son has achieved amazing things in his life, including being the President of his Student Government in High School, and has been accepted into the college he’s loved for years.Susan and Rob discuss the importance of animal therapy on those diagnosed with FAS (one reason Rob and his husband Reece moved his family to a farm!) 7th Generation Foundation operates an inclusive, sustainable green care farm animal sanctuary with programming for children and youth.Author of The Silent Epidemic: A Child Psychiatrist’s Journey Beyond Death Row, Susan and Rob also discuss the thousands of inmates on Death Row who were in Foster Care and diagnosed with FAS at a young age. This is not a coincidence, and there is much that our society can do to curb this horrifying statistic.To learn more about or to purchase Susan’s book, please visit: www.prenatalalcoholexposure.com To learn more about 7th Generation Foundation, please visit:Website: www.7thGenerationFoundationInc.org or www.dreamcatchermeadows.orgFacebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheDreamCatcherFarm Blog: www.bettersafethansorryproject.comBook: www.prenatalalcoholexposure.com 

After you listen to today’s episode of Fostering Change, take a moment. Take a breath. Reflect on what you heard, and ponder how you would handle the situations that our guest Jackie Polk faced.Here is part of the note Jackie sent us when she inquired about sharing her story:I'm a boy mom of 3. I have 8 year old twins, and an 11 month old baby. 6 years ago I completely rebuilt my life from rock bottom. My rock bottom was filled with drug addiction, domestic violence and having my children removed from my care. I changed everything about my life and regained custody of my children and have been sober for almost 7 years. I'm happily married to an incredible man who's also in addiction recovery.  I share my story in order to inspire and encourage others to never give up on themselves no matter where they find themselves in life. There's so much of my story that I could feel guilty or embarrassed about which would make it easy to keep to myself but there's so many people struggling the same way that I was and I want them to know that there's hope for a better life. I'm no more special than anyone else, I just decided I wanted a different life and I worked really hard to have it.In our interview, Jackie stated: “Foster care gave me the chance to be a better person… a better mom.”Our host, and founder of Comfort Cases Rob Scheer shared that “We all have the ability to change and write your own life chapters. Don’t let anyone else write them for you.”A reminder that Fostering Change now posts on alternative Tuesdays.  Our next episode will drop on April 23!  You can always catch up on previous episodes of Fostering Change by visiting www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.If you have any comments, questions, or guest suggestions, we’d love to hear from you!  Please write to us at info@comfortcases.org.As always, thank you for listening!

Jerold Hawkins was introduced to Rob Scheer and Comfort Cases in 2023 when the company he works for, Aptiv, held a “Packing Party,” packing up backpacks filled with new essential items to be delivered to local social service agencies for distribution to youth entering foster care in Michigan.Following the event, Jerold reached out to us because he wanted to share his story: his experience in foster care, moving to a variety of homes over a 5 year period - recalling “all my life’s belongings dumped into a black trash bag.”Jerold shares his journey with Rob and also his now mission to help make positive change to the foster care system. We know you’ll enjoy today’s episode.A reminder that Fostering Change now posts on alternative Tuesdays.  Our next episode will drop on April 9!  You can always catch up on previous episodes of Fostering Change by visiting www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.If you have any comments, questions, or guest suggestions, we’d love to hear from you!  Please write to us at info@comfortcases.org.As always, thank you for listening!

Today, we welcome back a wonderful guest, Charell Star. We first discovered Charell in 2021 from the “Humans of New York” column and video she was featured. We wanted Charell to come back on our podcast to give us an update on her work in the foster care system since then.Charell shares her common experiences with CASA and talks with Rob about the needs of youth in foster care, especially to promote reunification.“If we were looking to help people, and not penalize people for the unfair luck of being born poor in a system that doesn’t want to support those born without privilege. If we would spend even a fraction of what we spend to take their children away from them… we could actually solve this.”Later this Spring, Charell will be an Honoree at the 2024 CASA-NYC Gala.Charell has finished her autobiography. Once it’s published, you know she’ll be back on our podcast!You can learn more about Charell by visiting her here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charellstar/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charellstar/You can read Charell’s “Human’s of New York” story here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUK7yfSrFT3/?hl=enA reminder that Fostering Change now posts on alternative Tuesdays. Our next episode will drop on March 26! You can always catch up on previous episodes of Fostering Change by visiting www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.If you have any comments, questions, or guest suggestions, we’d love to hear from you! Please write to us at info@comfortcases.org.As always, thank you for listening!

Often times when children are removed from their homes and brought to a social service agency or law enforcement office, they are not placed in a foster home immediately, and have to spend hours, a whole night, or even days sitting on an uncomfortable office chair, a lumpy couch or maybe an air mattress tucked under a desk. No privacy, and no dignity.Jennifer Tice and her team at LilyPad: A Soft Place to Land have taken steps to end this practice in their home state of South Carolina, and soon throughout the country. Lily Pad volunteers are building comfortable living spaces, within the state’s Department of Social Service offices, for children to feel loved and valued during an uncertain time.Each Lily Pad space is unique to the DSS office it is installed in. You can click HERE to see a “before and after” of what a Lily Pad space is like (or visit this link: https://www.lilypadinc.org/lilypadroomsbeforeandafter)On today’s episode of Fostering Change, you will learn, as Rob Scheer did, more about Jennifer and her family’s road to foster care, and why the name “Lily” is so important to them.All Lily Pad funding comes from volunteers and good humans like you - our listeners.  To find out more about LilyPad, volunteer, or see how you can get involved, please visit: https://www.lilypadinc.org/You can also follow Lilypad on social media:Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/LilyPad.ASoftPlacetoLandInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/lily.pad.inc/A reminder that Fostering Change now posts on alternative Tuesdays.  Our next episode will drop on February 27  You can always catch up on previous episodes of Fostering Change by visiting www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.If you have any comments, questions, or guest suggestions, we’d love to hear from you!  Please write to us at info@comfortcases.org.

Happy Valentine’s Day! (one day early)On today’s special episode, of Fostering Change we bring in two of our favorite married couples:David & Julie Bulitt and Rob & Reece Scheer!  Yes, our host and his husband - co-founders of Comfort Cases - discuss relationships, particularly the issues faced by parents who adopt children and how to keep the marital relationship going strong!David & Julie have appeared on Fostering Change before. They have a unique perspective based on their careers as Julie is a licensed clinical social worker and David is a Divorce Attorney. David and Julie have been married for more than 35 years. They have four daughters and three grandchildren and are the authors of two books: Secrets of Strong Couples and the recently released, Couple’s Journal - Goal Setting for Strong Couples.Rob & Reece are soon to be celebrating their 21st anniversary, and as you likely know are the parents of five children, all adopted through the foster care system.In today’s discussion, you will hear the Scheers and Bulitts discuss issues they are currently experiencing as married couples and the solutions they have - including compromise - that keep the lines of communication open and flowing positively.  But they do admit that it’s not all “wine and roses” every day, and you need to work together and on a regular basis to keep the relationship going strong.The Bulitt’s new book, The Couple’s Journal is a terrific tool to do just that.  It helps couples set goals and arranges “check-ins” to make sure you’re actually working on those goals.  They also have a new podcast, Conversations for Couples that we encourage you to listen (after you finish this episode of Fostering Change, of course!)To learn more about David & Julie Bulitt:Website: https://thebulitts.com/ All social media channels: @thebulittsConversations for Couples Podcast: https://audioboom.com/channels/5118597-conversations-for-couplesA reminder that Fostering Change now posts on alternative Tuesdays.  Our next episode will drop on February 27  You can always catch up on previous episodes of Fostering Change by visiting www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.If you have any comments, questions, or guest suggestions, we’d love to hear from you!  Please write to us at info@comfortcases.org.As always, thank you for listening!

Today, on Fostering Change, Comfort Cases’ founder Rob Scheer has an enlightening conversation with Mark Daley, author of SAFE: A Memoir of Fatherhood, Foster Care, and the Risks We Take for Family.  The book offers a deeply personal window into what happens when the universal longing for family crashes up against the unique madness and bureaucracy of a child protection system that often fails to consider the needs of the most vulnerable parties of all—the children themselves.You will hear Rob share that he believes that SAFE is an important resource for anyone who is interested in learning more about, or is actively participating in our foster care system.  You will hear Rob and Mark discuss how having a community of support all around you is so important. In fact, finding community is “Step Number 1!” - be that community family, church, neighbors or others who can support you as you work to juggle this new lifestyle.You will learn so much more about Mark and his thoughts on our broken foster care system. We encourage you to write a review, and share this podcast with others you care about.Mark will be visiting a number of cities for book readings and signings. To see when he is coming to your city, or to invite him to your city, please visit: https://markdaley.us/To purchase SAFE, please visit your local independent bookstore or purchase online on sites including:AmazonBarnes & NobleBookshop.orgYou can follow Mark on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markdaley00/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markdaley00A reminder that Fostering Change now posts on alternative Tuesdays.  So our next episode will drop on February 13 - a very special Valentine’s Day episode!  You can always catch up on previous episodes of Fostering Change by visiting www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.If you have any comments, questions, or guest suggestions, we’d love to hear from you!  Please write to us at info@comfortcases.org.As always, thank you for listening!

Comfort Cases is so lucky to have many friends and supporters from around the world.  In 2022 we opened our first international center, Comfort CasesUK (https://comfortcasesuk.org/).  On today’s episode, we welcome a guest from England, our friend Kevin Leslie.Kevin is known for many movie and tv roles, most recently appearing in the Christmas movie: Christmas at the Holly Day Inn.  Today on Fostering Change, Rob Scheer talks to Kevin about the new children’s books series he wrote, Granddad Brian & His Stories.Kevin wrote these books as a creative way of dealing with loss and grief, following the loss of his grandfather to covid.  His grandfather loved telling stories and Kevin wanted to share the warmth from his “granddad” with children around the world.  He partnered with Comfort Cases and has donated numerous books to our center in the UK! We know you’ll enjoy today’s episode!To find out more about Kevin, please visit him on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevinLeslieActor/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinleslieactor/ Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TheKevinLeslie If interested in getting one of Kevin’s books, reach out to him directly at:  https://www.instagram.com/grandadbrianstories/If interested in making a donation to our center in the UK, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/comfortcasesukA reminder that Fostering Change now posts on alternative Tuesdays.  So our next episode will drop on Tuesday, January 30.  You can always catch up on previous episodes of Fostering Change by visiting www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.If you have any comments, questions, or guest suggestions, we’d love to hear from you!  Please write to us at info@comfortcases.org.As always, thank you for listening!

Welcome to 2024! The entire team at Comfort Cases hopes you had a festive, and happy holiday season.  Note that we didn’t write “restful”, as we know the past few weeks are generally the busiest time of year.This is why we are starting off our 2024 season right, with an interview with Ashley Neese, author of Permission to Rest: Revolutionary Practices for Healing, Empowerment, and Collective Care. Ashley Neese is a renowned breathwork teacher, author, parent, and land steward. She has spent over a decade working at the intersections of embodiment, transformation, and renewal. Ashley is host of The Deeper Call podcast, where she shares restorative conversations to support connection and healing. Ashley is a foster parent, as well as adoptive parent and biological parent. She has recently brought a foster son into their home as part of an emergency foster care situation and understands that all parents need to find time for rest in their lives. In this interview, host Rob Scheer and Ashley discuss how resting as a practice is a portal to grow ones capacity to be with hard things , which in turn gives you the capacity to be there for your kids and partner when they are going through hard things rather than dismiss, shame, or try to make them feel differently - it allows one to meet them where they are.To learn more about Ashley, please visit:Website: https://www.ashleyneese.com/Instagram: ashley_neeseAbout her books: https://www.ashleyneese.com/books* We want to share one note about Fostering Change. Starting this week, we will be posting episodes on a bi-weekly basis (we all need a little rest, right?) So our next episode will be posted on January 16.But you can always catch up on previous episodes of Fostering Change by visiting www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.If you have any comments, questions, or guest suggestions, we’d love to hear from you!  Please write us at info@comfortcases.org.As always, thank you for listening!