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BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE
Foster children tend to travel light and often.
Some stay at a foster home for a week or less. Some will live in as many as 20 homes over their time in foster care.
And often, when it's time to move, the children throw all their possessions in a plastic trash bag and head for the next place.
A Fredericksburg lawyer hopes to change that, by providing suitcases to local departments of social services.
Thomas Savage, a family law attorney, has worked as a guardian ad litem for about 15 years. As a lawyer appointed to represent abused and neglected children, Savage has worked with many area foster children.
Sometimes, they would mention carting their belongings in trash bags. Savage hated the thought of foster kids toting plastic bags filled with their clothes and other possessions. But he didn't stop to think about it too much.
Then, last year, he attended a local seminar on best practices for foster children. Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge David Peterson mentioned the kids' carrying trash bags.
"In America today, I just found it extremely sad that someone would have all of their worldly belongings put in a trash bag," Savage said. "Many of these children have been abused or neglected. They've had a hard enough life without their life relegated to a trash bag."
He can't erase the abuse and neglect, but Savage was determined to help in the short run.
He called the directors of local departments of social services and asked if he could collect suitcases for foster children.
In the past, similar efforts helped, he learned. But they were always hampered by limited storage space. So Savage contacted Falmouth Self Storage. The company donated a storage unit, and Savage has started collecting suitcases and other items--combs, brushes and toiletries.
He hopes to get new or gently used suitcases--the kind of luggage a foster child would be proud to carry.
When luggage arrives, Savage e-mails local foster care workers, so they know what's available.
Suitcases may not seem like much, but they will make a big difference, said Beth Girone, foster care supervisor for the Fredericksburg Department of Social Services.
Trash bags stand out and send the message that the kids' belongings are not significant.
"Being able to fit in and not stand out is important," Girone said. "Each time a child comes into care or when a child is moved, we'll definitely be taking advantage of these suitcases."
Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973
Email: aumble@freelancestar.com
To donate new or gently used suitcases, call Thomas Savage at 540/373-4922. Toiletries and money are also accepted.
