A holiday wish for Austin's House

At this time of year, I usually send out a press release that outlines the holiday wish list for the children at Austin's House. Last year, it listed items like gift cards for local stores, movie tickets, video rentals and Wii games. Once again, our generous community stepped forward and donated all of the gifts requested and even more. This year's holiday wish list is a lot different.

Austin's House is a group foster home with 10 bedrooms. Unfortunately, this wonderful facility has been empty for too many nights this year. The average length of stay for the children in crisis placed at Austin's House has dropped 80 percent from 2008. Nothing has changed at Austin's House. Our mission to provide love and nurturing to these children during the most difficult time of their life has never wavered. There are still many children being removed from their homes that desperately need the emergency shelter of Austin's House. The difference is most likely the result of the recession and the severe financial pressure on the agencies responsible for placing these children in crisis.

Austin's House is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Corporation. Our goal is to help change the lives of children, not to make any money. Austin's House does charge a fee that is higher than the rate for placing children with foster parents in their own home. The annual budget is set up to balance this income with donations from the community to meet the operating expenses. The huge drop in the number of children staying at Austin's House has forced the board of directors to make some very difficult decisions. Staff has been greatly reduced and expenses cut to the bare minimum. This is still not enough. Now the board must seriously consider the real possibility of closing Austin's House. That would be devastating for everyone involved but mostly it would hurt the children who need help the most. The bottom line is that we have no control over the placement of these children in crisis.

There are many factors at work here but the common thread is money. Certainly there is nothing wrong with saving money. I would hope that all government agencies would be frugal in their spending decisions. However, I feel that you simply cannot put a price on the value of rescuing a young child in crisis.

Imagine what it must be like for these children who are removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect. Close your eyes for a moment and try to remember when you were seven years old. Your parents are pretty much the center of your universe. Your home is the only safe place you know. You have done absolutely nothing wrong but complete strangers are removing you from that home. You have no idea where you will be eating your next meal or where you will be sleeping. That is extremely frightening. These are the precious children comforted and loved by the great staff at Austin's House.

The construction and opening of Austin's House was truly a miracle. It was built entirely with donations from our generous community. My holiday wish for 2009 is for another miracle. I wish that we could increase cash donations to $300,000 per year. That would cover the annual operating expenses. Then we could charge nothing for children in crisis to stay at Austin's House. It would be incredible if those in charge of placing the children could make the best decision for the child's sake and not be worried about how much money is involved. That would ensure that the child's best interests would come first.

I am asking for a lot but there is no better cause than saving a young life. I hope that you agree.

Happy Holidays and best wishes for 2010.

Conrad Buedel is on the board of directors of Austin's House