All Other Ground Is Sinking Sand: Jesse Dalbec’s Story
There is one goal behind everything we do at Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries — to end the cycle of abuse and neglect for children in foster care in this generation. When children are provided with safe homes and are able to build relationships with safe adults, they are able to experience stability, which leads to their future success.
We are honored and overjoyed to share Jesse’s story and to witness how he has created generational change for his own family.
“I went into foster care in 1990, when I was two years old,” Jesse shared. “What started out as just staying at some people’s houses turned into living there, and eventually became Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries.”
Jesse was one of the first children who lived at Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries, and he spent sixteen years of his childhood in foster care, both at Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries and other places.
“Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries was always the place where you could just breathe,” Jesse shared. “I mean, you could just feel good. When I knew I was going back to Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries, I knew I didn’t have to worry. There was no more anxiety, no more concern. I knew that I was going to be safe because we knew what it was like, we knew who was there, and we knew the environment we were going to be in.”
When Jesse was seventeen, he made the decision to age out of foster care.
“You have no idea what you’re getting into,” Jesse said. “Going to school wasn’t paying my bills, but working was, so I made the decision my senior year of high school to quit school and work full time.”
Shortly after that, he made the courageous decision to join the US Army, where he served until he met his wife, Sara.
“I guess sometimes girls change our paths in life,” Jesse said.
After leaving the Army, Jesse began to work for the railroad as he and Sara got married and began to build a life together.
When Jesse lived at The Hill, he lived with Bill and Tammy Atherton, who served as foster parents at Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries for over nine years.
“Jesse is a fighter, helper, and protector,” Bill shared. “A man whom I couldn’t be more proud of.”
Jesse and Sara have two daughters, Josie and Ava. Jesse shared that it was a priority for them to create a stable and secure environment for their family.
This year, he built a house for his family, a place for his daughters to feel safe and comfortable being children.
“It was very important to me that my children would never have to have the concerns that a lot of children in the foster system have,” Jesse said. “When my wife and I built and designed this house, those are things that we factored into the planning.”
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