The first baby Kathy Foster and Bill Jones took in at Casa de Esperanza de los Ninos Incorporated (Casa) in 1982 was so small and frail they fed her with an eyedropper and huddled around her to keep her warm in the drafty house they had rented for $280 a month. Soon they had six children whose parents had vanished, gone to prison or died. “From then on, it was child after child after child,” says Foster. “While some are physically injured, they’re all emotionally damaged and have no skills at forming relationships when they get here. Usually nobody was at their crib to hold them or to change them when they cried.”

Today Casa cares for more than 100 children each year in safe, warm homes with nurturing families, either in one of 10 beautiful houses on-site or in foster homes around the community. New arrivals are on average 16 months old. One-third of the tiny children were abused before arriving at Casa. One-third were homeless. Ten percent are HIV positive. And almost half of their parents have been in prison. “The children can stay one day or as long as needed,” explains Foster. “One boy has been here for 14 years. About half of the kids eventually return to a family member, and half go on to live with a person other than a relative.” After they leave, Casa follows up with financial, medical and personal support to help keep their families stable and the kids safe.

While they’re at Casa, children get medical care, attend an on-premises school tailored to their emotionally and medically fragile conditions and participate in therapy and in play groups that address the developmental challenges and delays caused by their neglect and abuse. Devoted volunteers and staff form and sustain long-term, committed relationships with the children to help them learn that life can be different and better. “We can serve many children for short periods to relieve a momentary crisis,” says Jones. “Instead we help a smaller number of children very well for long periods of time and change these children and future generations of their families forever. We help our children understand that they are good enough to be loved and that they are good enough to have a valued place in this world.”