From Foster Parent to Foster Care Specialist

Aly Stuart, a Care Specialist at AHF, was previously a foster mom with our agency! She is now stepping into foster care to help families just like hers. Read her story below!

“Growing up my mother engraved in me the importance of helping those in need and to take
every opportunity given to strive to be a light to somebody else’s darkness. I always knew my
calling was to not only help those in need, but to fight for those in need as well. I was given the
gift of an unfiltered, unapologetic, non-tempered voice with a knack for fighting for what is
right against what is wrong. I’ve realized that I am able to use this God given gift for the good
and further pave the way to change the many challenges of our foster care system today.

This calling originally led me to become a foster parent at first, in hopes to be the voice for the
foster children I opened my home up too. I was blown away by the dedication the care
specialists at AHF gave to their foster families, especially by the resources and opportunities
they made sure we as foster families had. Being a new foster parent with no biological children
of my own, Jennifer Long (care specialist at that time) stepped up and made sure I had ample
resources available to me in order to be successful as a foster parent. Whether those resources
were home cooked meals being delievered by AHF staff, picking through the resource room to
get clothing and toys for the children, having babysitters available for respite when I needed a
break to even having beds donated and dropped off. AHF not only showed up and provided,
they stepped in and showed they cared every step of the way.

During my time as a foster parent within Annas House Foundation, I was so inspired by the care specialists, specifically my care specialist, I knew I wanted to pursue my calling even further. I wanted to fight for the children in care and fight for the opportunity of preserving a better future for them, and for all of us. Before I knew it, Katherine reached out to me for a job opportunity as a care specialist at Annas House right at the time where I needed a job as I was transitioning out of the military and I knew I couldn’t pass down the opportunity to work alongside the ladies that inspired me to take the next step into following my calling in the first place. Children are our future- we need to stand together in preserving the best future we can for them today in hopes to see a better tomorrow”.

Be a light to others darkness and above else, “let no one despise you for your youth, but set the
believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity”. 1 Timothy 4:12