PHOENIX — May is National Foster Care Month and one Valley couple is opening their hearts and home to help keep a family together.
“We have a sibling set, we have two brothers,” said Diana Parkinson.
For six months now, two boys ages 3 and 4 have been living with Diana Parkinson and her wife Charity Smith.
“I think I always knew I wanted to be a parent, I always knew I come from a huge family part of my day to day” said Parkinson.
The job of fostering siblings isn’t always easy, but for this couple providing a home to siblings is of utmost importance.
“It is huge for these kids. We really need to think about the child and their biological connection and what we can keep steady and stable for them. And for me and my wife it has been huge for us for sure,” said Charity Smith.
The most recent and latest report from the Department of Child Safety lists 14,461 children in the state as part of the foster system.
With this month being National Foster Care Month, these foster moms say the message, foster if you can, needs to be sent out to the community.
“To see a kid be a kid is an amazing thing. And these kids sometimes don’t know how to be not on edge and relax and be a kid is a really cool moment,” said Charity Smith.
The couple is hoping to create positive lifetime memories for the boys by taking them on trips to northern Arizona and San Diego, so far.
“We took them to the beach and see both the boys playing in the water, and the waves picking up little sea shells you could see the excitement in their little faces”
Both Diana and Charity say the entire foster preparation process took them about one year to complete.
If you are interested in fostering, click here.