NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
December 29, 2008

 

Coffee County Foster Child/Parent Support Group being formed

 

   A support group for Coffee County’s foster children and foster parents is being formed, according to Lane and Evelyn Curlee, co-ordinators of the group. The first meeting will be held Wednesday, January 14 th at 11:45 a.m.

A barbecue lunch will be provided for $5 (payable at door), or attendees can bring their own lunch. The support group will meet at the Fraternal Order of Police Building, ½ mile north of Hickerson Station School on the old Manchester-Tullahoma Highway. Please call 581-0360 or email lcurlee@charter.net by January 12 th if you will be attending and if you need a lunch. The group plans to meet monthly.

 

   “There are 100+ children in foster care from Coffee County, and, unfortunately, more come into care every week,” according to Evelyn Curlee. “We have one of the highest number of foster children per capita in the state, as many as Davidson and Shelby Counties. To complicate matters, there is a dire shortage of foster homes in Coffee County. As a result, children are being taken out of the county and away from stable influences like friends, neighborhoods, schools, churches and extended family.”

 

   “Many foster children come from abusive or neglectful situations. It is typically best to keep families together but sometimes that is not possible. And that is where foster parents come in and can be a tremendous help,” said Lane Curlee.

 

   The support group will serve two primary purposes. One is to help recruit foster parents. The other purpose is to help the abused and neglected foster children in the county. Often children are helped with the basics by their foster parents, but the parents often are not in a position to help with tickets to ballgames, movies, and other outings enjoyed by young people.

 

   “In addition, foster parents need support. It would be nice for a church teen group to step forward and offer to organize a “Parents Night Out” occasionally, so the foster parents could enjoy a dinner or movie alone,” said Lane Curlee.

 

   “We hope individuals, church members, and civic club representatives will see the need and want to help. These children need our help and foster parents need our support. Attending a meeting seems like such a small thing, but by working together we can made a huge impact on the life of a child,” said Curlee.

 

   For more information about the support group or to RSVP for the January 14 th meeting, call Lane Curlee at 581-0360 or email lcurlee@charter.net .