JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- As the opioid epidemic continues to grow, so does the number of children entering Florida's foster care system. Right now in Jacksonville, more than 800 kids are in foster care. Gabby Ricard used to be one of them.
Ricard was 15-years-old when her mother was sent to prison on drug-related charges and she was sent to a foster care facility separated from her siblings.
"Being so grown and then entering in the system, you definitely feel like there's no one there," Ricard said. "At that time, you know all the counselors and chaperones within the facility were my family."
It's a story all too familiar for families across the First Coast and across the state, and the opioid epidemic is adding to the problem at an alarming rate.
"The opioid epidemic in Florida is at a very high rate right now and so we're seeing kids come into foster care," said Sundy Goodnight with the non-profit One More Child. "Last year 16,000 children in Florida entered the foster care system and we have currently about 24,000 children total in the foster care system here in Florida."
One More Child is partnering with Impact Church in Jacksonville to find more families to foster and adopt children.
"We are hoping this year through One More Child Foster Care to license 40 to 60 new homes," Goodnight said. "We really need families that can step up to the plate to take in these children, specifically teenagers and sibling sets four or greater are our greatest need."
It's a mission she has taken to heart. She is fostering a 7-month-old baby girl right now.
"Honestly it is the greatest move I have ever made in my life, and as a single woman, many people don't realize that singles can adopt and as a single woman, I just realized why not? I had an extra bedroom and a whole lot of love to give and honestly four months ago, my life just radically changed for the better," Goodnight said. "To be able to give a child who has been neglected, who's been treated less than they should to be able to give them that love and care and support has not only transformed her and her little life but it also transformed mine."
As much as she loves the baby she is caring for, the ultimate goal of foster care is reunification.
"We want to see families that are restored, families that get the help that they need so that they can take their child back," she said. "In the cases when that cannot happen then there are options for adoption, but the goal is reunification."
Right now, there are 165 children in foster care on the First Coast who are eligible for adoption.
Donna Craig adopted a baby after doctors told her she and her husband could not conceive.
"As much love as you believe you have to give to a child this is really much love as they give back to you," Craig said.
Two decades later, it's a decision she does not regret.
"She is our child and we subsequently gave birth to two children after adoption and have just really been blessed through the whole process and would absolutely do it again," she said.
Impact Church in Jacksonville, in partnership with One More Child, is hosting an adoption and foster care information session Thursday, April 5. The goal is to mobilize families in our community to help care for the hundreds of children in the foster care system.
"Just to fill any type of void of not feeling wanted, not feeling love," Ricard said. "You feel like you have no meaning in the world. Just one single person or two people, any type of support is wanted from a child, even the hardest kids to deal with inside and deep inside that's all they want. We all want the same thing. We all want a family and we all want to feel like we belong in the world."
Ricard aged out of the foster care system without ever being matched with a foster care family. Now at 23, she has reunited with her mother who she says is now back on her feet.
"I love my mom so I was glad to just be able to have her and not just see her through a glass or for certain hours for one day out of a month," Ricard said. "She's working two jobs, has a car, her own house, and two beautiful grandkids. I have a daughter of my own and my brother had one too."
If you would like to attend the Adoption and Foster Care Information Session at Impact Church you can RSVP here.
COMMON MYTHS ABOUT BEING A FOSTER PARENT
Myth: I'm too old to be a foster parent.
Truth: In Florida, you must be 21 to be a foster parent but there is no maximum age limit.
Myth: I can't be a foster parent because I'm not married.
Truth: Single people can be foster parents.
Myth: I have children of my own so I can't be a foster parent.
Truth: Families with children of their own can foster children.
Myth: I'm not wealthy so I can't be a foster parent.
Truth: Foster parents get a stipend from the state. Foster parents have to have enough money to be able to care properly for a child, but they don't have to be wealthy.