Resolve to help a child who needs you

January 11, 2019

By Paul Nigro
Guardian ad Litem Circuit 19 Director

Port St. Lucie -

January is the month when millions of Americans look to the new year as a fresh start. We make resolutions to go to the gym more often, go back to school or start a business. We want to change for the better.

But if you need inspiration for a New Year’s resolution, consider changing the life of an abused or neglected child. It sounds daunting, but there are so many ways you can get involved in helping children in need. You can find a way that works for you.

In our judicial circuit – Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties – about 1,100 children are involved in the dependency system through no fault of their own. These children have been abused, abandoned or neglected. Many are traumatized; many are in foster care. Many are separated not only from their parents but their siblings. They need a champion, someone to speak for them in court and defend their best interests. Or even someone to take them home and nurture them. Frankly, they need you.

The number of children who enter the foster care system far exceeds the number of foster homes. It is a growing problem statewide, but only local communities can solve it. And while our communities continue to grow, I believe we’ve also maintained those priceless small-town values of looking out for each other and helping your neighbor. Customs that sometimes get lost in big cities.

Our kids don’t need a lot. They just need someone competent and caring, a role model, someone they can trust. They need someone to stand up for them because they can’t do it themselves. But your guidance can give them a new way of looking at their lives.

Every day the people of this community do amazing things for children in need, from fostering and adopting them to advocating for them as Guardian ad Litem volunteers to raising money for their scholarships and school supplies. There is something you can do to help a child.

If January is about new beginnings, please consider making one for a child who needs you.

For more information about becoming an advocate for a child, please contact the Guardian ad Litem Program at 772-785-5804. To learn more about foster care or becoming a foster parent, contact Communities Connected for Kids.

Paul Nigro is the Circuit Director for the Judicial Circuit 19 Guardian ad Litem program. He and his agency are partnering with Communities Connected for Kids, 4Kids of the Treasure Coast, Camelot Community Care, Mount Bethel Human Services, Place of Hope Treasure Coast and the Roundtable of St. Lucie County to raise awareness about the need for foster homes and to dispel common myths surrounding the foster-care system.