When foster kids move between homes, they often don’t have anything more than the clothes on their backs.
Teenagers already feel out of place often enough, never mind the pressure to fit in in a new school and town.
“What kids are wearing is very important to their self-esteem,” said Phyllis Bishop, a foster parent in Belfair. “They already feel like they stand out because they’re in foster care.”
That’s why the Kitsap Mall is collecting new and gently used jeans for its Great Denim Event Jean Drive, which started July 29 and runs through Aug. 31. It is the second denim drive at the Kitsap Mall benefiting the Kitsap Foster Care Association. Last year, the mall collected 200 pairs of jeans during the monthlong drive – as of Wednesday, the jeans count already topped that with 346. The goal is 5,000 pairs by the end of the month.
Foster parents say such clothing collections are more important now than ever because of cut backs in clothing vouchers for foster parents from the state.
Diana Castenares, a Bremerton foster parent of 17 years, said the state offers assistance for each foster child, depending on the clothes he or she already has. If the child has nothing, she used to receive a $200 state voucher, but now gets $100 – not much for a teen wardrobe, she said.
About 90 percent of Castenares’ foster children don’t have any clothes and often, a child comes to her late at night, so keeping a reserve of clothes is necessary.
“I make sure all my kids leave here with something,” she said.
Luanne Vail, a foster parent in Port Orchard, said the state reductions in vouchers strain foster families who typically don’t have much money, anyway. But clothing collections for foster families help her maintain an emergency inventory.
While clothing for all foster children is important, the needs of teenage boys are most overlooked.
“Everybody kind of forgets about the boys,” Bishop said. “They care about clothes, too.”
Though taken for granted by most teenagers, Bishop said a nice pair of jeans can go a long way to help foster children. It’s something useful parents can give the children while they are away from family and friends.
“It’s very nice to know that when you have a child coming into your home and they have to go to school the next day, that you have something on hand they can wear that’s clean, that’s nice, that fits them well,” Bishop said. “It gives them something that makes them feel good.”
