Growing up in a large family, I have been blessed to have the support and familiarity of my five siblings, one of whom was adopted. I have also been lucky to have my parents around. However, I still relied and continue to rely on the advice and support of my siblings. I can only imagine how difficult it would be without my parents, and even more so without my brothers and sisters.
Sadly, close to 40 percent of the sibling groups in foster care in Florida are separated from their brothers and sisters. I cannot imagine being torn from my home, parents and family only to be left in the care of stranger without my brothers and sisters. I learned about this issue as part of my Leadership Broward Class 35. I and seven of my classmates, self-named Siblings Rock, were blessed with the opportunity to work with Children’s Harbor, a nationally accredited nonprofit child welfare agency, to raise awareness about siblings being separated in foster care. Children’s Harbor was established 20 years ago to keep brothers and sisters together in loving, nurturing group homes on their beautiful 8-acre campus in Pembroke Pines.
