Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Schwindeman.
Eric was adopted out of foster care and enjoyed a safe, loving, and secure childhood. In 2018, he devised a way he could give back to his community. In the course of his research, he learned that various agencies were finding it difficult to recruit volunteers from the local Catholic parishes to support foster children. Eric decided to create a faith-based community coalition, called Hope, Heart and Home, that would make it possible to successfully engage these parishes.
With the support of local child welfare agencies – including Voices For Children, Citrus Family Care Network, Educate Tomorrow, the Guardian ad Litem Program, Florida Foster Care Review, The Youth Advisory Council, The Children’s Trust, and His House – Eric assembled a team of “Child Advocates” to approach the priests and parishioners in the 11 parishes of the South Dade Deanery of the Archdiocese of Miami.
They scheduled meetings and appearances at the churches to recruit volunteers for five vocations: Guardian ad Litem, Foster Parents, Respite Parents, Panelists for Case Review Boards, and Mentors for college students aging out of foster care. Organizational meetings are held monthly (in person and now virtually) the second Monday of every month. Guest speakers were invited to talk to the volunteers and the meetings provided the venue and camaraderie to grow the effort. Volunteers were trained to step into these roles. Hope, Heart & Home (HHH) partners with the agencies to hold events (Food Drive, Toy Drive, Back-to-School. Backpacks) that encourages participation from the parishioners to support children in foster care.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We learned the recruiting process was a slow, step-by-step process. Parishioners needed time to decipher how they could help. Not all priests were receptive at first to the idea of a multi-parish “ministry” recruiting on their campus. It would take months of persistent contact to see the first volunteers step forward. By cultivating the relationships with local contacts, trust was built and the interest grew. Today we get 10 to 15 new faces at our monthly meetings.
Hope, Heart & Home – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Hope, Heart & Home is the only entity of its kind in the Archdiocese. We have been successful because we are a faith-based organization made up of volunteers who care about foster children. As such, we are much more likely to attract parishioners at these various parishes. By offering a variety of vocations for volunteers to explore – Guardian ad Litem, Foster Parents, Respite Parents, Panelists, and Mentors – we can tell parishes, “we have something for everyone from 19 to 90!”
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I became a Guardian ad Litem in 2018 and as a representative of Hope, Heart & Home, I was recognized by the Guardians for the work I did with a seven-year girl, reuniting her with her grandmother. I’m particularly proud of the number of Guardians we trained at St. John Neumann: 47 in 2018-19. I’m excited about the potential of the mentoring program we started with the Youth Advisory Council, pairing up 10 of our Volunteers with college students.
Our Foster and Respite Parent program was the most challenging – becoming a foster parent is a HUGE commitment. But we now have six families in the program. Our Leadership Team of 12 Child Advocates from seven different churches has built a long-lasting relationship in the community and with our agency partners. I can’t praise them enough!
Contact Info:
- Facebook: “Hope, Heart & Home Ministry”
- Phone: 786-333-7138
- Email: eschwindeman@yahoo.com
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