We would like to introduce you to one of our Harrisburg community foster parents, Jessica Roemmelt! Jessica is a single mom who has been living at The Hill for a few months.
How many children are you currently fostering?
I am fostering 6 children and also try to help with emergency care when I can.
What made you want to become a foster parent?
I have always loved children. When I was younger and people would ask what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would tell them I wanted to train dogs and have 10 kids. I was a big sister in Big Brother’s Big Sisters, I worked in a daycare for a while, and I was the coolest Aunt ever to my nieces and nephews.
Tell us about your journey to become a foster parent.
For about a year prior to starting my fostering journey, I watched a friend from high school foster and go on to adopt a child from the foster care system. At first, I watched and cheered her on from afar, not knowing what fostering was, but then I started to ask questions and learned about the great need for more foster parents. Just before my 29th birthday in 2019, I placed an inquiry on Cornerstones of Care out of Columbia, Missouri to find out more information. I was worried they would turn me down because I was single and lived about 2.5 hours from any of my close family. Even though my support system wasn’t nearby to help me out, I was a successful store manager at a retail store, I had a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath town house and I had a whole lot of love to give – so I went for it.
I worked with the most amazing licensing worker, Roxanne; who navigated me through the entire process and ensured me that although I was single, they would love for me to join in helping children in foster care. I went through the classes, did all the paperwork and waited (not long) for a call.
Tell us about your foster parent journey so far? How many children have you cared for?
My foster parent journey thus far has had highs and lows, but ultimately, it’s been amazing. This isn’t easy by any means, and it definitely isn’t easy by myself, but I have an amazing support team around me, my family has been supportive and loves every child that enters my home, no matter the amount of time they’re with us. My Grandma even sews each kiddo in my house a stocking for Christmas so that she’s sure they have one, whether or not they stay or go home. So far, I have cared for 17 children in my home, several respite kiddos and a couple children for emergency placements.
Tell me about moving to “The Hill” (Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries’s Harrisburg Foster Care Community). How did it come up and what made you want to move?
My move to The Hill was unexpected. I had no idea that Coyote Hill existed and was this close to Columbia, Missouri. I moved from Saint Joseph to Columbia in March of 2020 for work during the pandemic and planned to stay in the area for a while. The CEO Larry posted about the need for foster parents in their homes and that they were looking for parents to fill the homes and love children. I did not originally see the post, but a friend of mine from the KC MO area tagged me in the post, and then another friend tagged me on the same post on another page. Once I read more about the mission and what Coyote Hill stands for, I reached out to Larry to ask if they would consider a single mom. At the time, they weren’t sure they were going to have single parent households because it was a new household dynamic for the ministry, but after meeting with everyone they agreed to allow me to move into a duplex with my sibling set of four. After about five months of fostering and having six kiddos in the duplex, Larry and the community voted to move me to the Petersheim Home, a much larger home, on site.
What is the best part about fostering?
The BEST part about fostering is seeing the kids in my care blossom and really figure out who they are. Kids should be allowed to be kids, they should get to make mistakes, be silly, care free and just figure out who they want to be. When kids come into care, they are usually scared to discover who they are, but with a little structure and a lot of grace and love – they figure it out and it’s the BEST.
What have you learned from being a foster parent?
I have learned to go with the flow and give grace. Things in foster care don’t always (very rarely) go as planned, so when things switch up or change last minute, it’s important to go with the flow and give grace.
“I’ve learned to give grace to kids who don’t understand, who are scared and upset, give grace to caseworkers who are overworked, give grace to parents who are trying to get their lives together for their kiddos, and give grace to strangers who don’t understand. I’ve also learned to give grace to myself because I’m not perfect.“
Jessica Roemmelt
I’m not a perfect person or mom, but I know I love the children in my home and would do anything for them – so occasionally it’s okay to not be perfect.
If you want to learn more about becoming a foster parent, go to coyotehill.org/foster-care.
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