Hope Children's to reopen with renewed mission

The Hope Children�s Home is reopening its doors to children Jan. 7, with a refreshed mission, according to a recent story by Kassi Jackson in the Southeast Missourian. Paul and Patricia Aydelott are the new �house parents,� who will be helping children for short periods of time until they�re ready to find a more permanent place, whether with their biological parents or until suitable foster parents can be found.

�The main goal of this house is going to be to get [the children] prepared so that when they either go back home or they go to a foster family, they have the essentials,� Paul Aydelott said. �The goal is to have them here just temporary: 30 days.�

The Aydelotts hope to give the children a sense of schedule and organization, ensuring the children who come into the home have their proper paperwork and proper health checkups.

The Aydelotts are parents to three children � two biological children, Kelsey, 17, and Lewis, 15, and their adopted daughter, Johanna, 17.

�They have been a great asset to my wife and to us,� Paul Aydelott said.

�We�re not just fostering children, we�re fostering the whole family thinking,� Patricia Aydelott said. �That is their mother and father regardless of the situation, but not every mother and father knows how to parent. So we step in to that parent role for a short amount of time, hoping for reunification.�

This local mission could use your help. It takes quite a bit of resources to provide for children.

�It takes a community to raise the next generation,� Paul Aydelott said. �We want you to help, we want you to take ownership in it, we want you to do stuff to be involved.�

The Hope Children�s Home was started in 2010 by Paul and Dawn Caruso, who began fostering in 1999. The couple has 10 children, their oldest being a biological child and the other nine are adopted children � one through private adoption and eight adoptions through foster care.

�Some people find it in their heart to be foster parents or to adopt children, but that�s not for everybody,� he said. �There are so many different ways you can support someone and help someone do that. When you do, you�ll find that not only will you have a positive impact on someone else�s life, but they�ll have a positive impact on your own.�

If you are looking for a way to contribute to those in need in your local community, the Hope Children�s Home in Jackson is a worthy place for contributions.