In response to an urgent need for foster homes in South Florida, His House Children’s Home (HHCH) has launched a multifaceted marketing campaign to motivate families and individuals to consider opening their homes to a child in need. Children coming into the system during the holidays will be placed into group homes due to a dire shortage of foster parents. To help significantly expand and strengthen the network of foster homes, HHCH was awarded a challenge grant opportunity to implement new foster parent recruitment strategies.
There are currently over 24,200 children in foster-care in the state of Florida, ranging from newborns to teenagers. With so many children entering the system regularly and a shortage of available foster homes, HHCH is applying the awarded grant toward the implementation of a marketing campaign designed to raise awareness on becoming a foster parent and inform on the realities and misconceptions about foster children.
“Many in our community don’t know about the services and support systems available to foster parents. From medical insurance, financial support, child care and 24-hour support specialist, there is a wide-range of systems in place to make the process easier,” said Silvia Smith-Torres, Executive Director at His House Children’s Home.
With the campaign theme, “Because Every Foster Child Deserves a Family,” the His House recruitment campaign is focused on targeting diverse audiences in Miami-Dade and Broward counties with television, radio, digital and print ads running through next year. The broadcast ads feature actual foster families who have opened their hearts to children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment and neglect.
“Not every child is born into a healthy family environment, and many have to be placed in the foster care system through no fault of their own. But in today’s world there are many definitions of family and no matter the equation, love finds a way,” said Smith-Torres.
For nearly 30 years, His House has brought stability to the lives of more than 18,000 children and remains a frontline provider of residential and foster care services. The organization is licensed by the Department of Children and Families in Miami Dade and Monroe and ChildNet in Broward County as a residential program and child placement agency. To learn more about fostering a child, visit www.hhch.org or call (305) 914-1799.
