ABSTRACT
Community evolves as people develop a sense of being appreciated, of belonging, of deeply caring and being cared for…. Community is inspired by collaboration, sharing beliefs in the present and mutual hopes for the future. (Whitney 1995:200)
We are so blessed here at Hope Meadows. Everybody loves each other, and when the children go play outside, there is the attention and caring eyes of Mr. Beiderman, Mr. and Mrs. Saunders, Grandma Vera you know. They care for each other. And you won’t be afraid that the children will be out there playing because you know that there are some pairs of eyes watching. And then when I go out just to clean the surroundings, there come the children: “Grandma, Grandma. Can I help you?” It’s a family. It’s a community. (Rafina, Hope senior)
H ope For The Children (Hope), a nonprofit child welfareagency, created a new intergenerational neighborhood modelof care to support foster and adoptive children in Illinois. In this chapter we begin with a brief description of the crisis in foster care, both nationally and in Illinois. Then we describe how Hope provides one solution to this crisis by
helping children caught in the system find care and continuity in a supportive community-Hope Meadows. Further, we examine how dimensions of care and community at Hope Meadows stop the discontinuity of people and place by enfolding children into networks of stable, caring intergenerational relationships.
