http://www.hamptonroads.com/2009/10/foster-parents-compassion-needed

Bonnie Bradshaw can relate. Bradshaw had a rough childhood. Her parents were alcoholics, and she cooked, ironed and cleaned by the time she was 5.

Fifteen years ago, she and husband Glenn became foster parents and they’ve housed an estimated 40 children in their four-bedroom home off U.S. 58. She has adopted three.

“What I have learned is that each child has a gift,” said Bradshaw, an ordained minister and a motivational speaker. “All of them want to be loved. They want the American type of life they read about.”

Bradshaw agreed that most people want a cute baby. They don’t consider teenagers.

“They don’t think about gangs,” she said. “Or hormones. Or dating. Some of these children have children, and you have to make both of them part of your home. Some are on probation. Others have open court cases. They never think they might have to put locks on the windows and doors.

“It takes a special person to work with teens. You have to fight for these kids. If they don’t have a parent fighting for them, who is?”

The rewards can pay off, she said. When her foster son Donnie came to them as a teen he dreaded school. He threw books and punched lockers and had constant behavior problems.

Today he has a GED diploma and a good job in construction.

“You just fall in love with the inside of these kids,” Bradshaw said. “They are awesome if you take the time to search inside. These children come to a stranger’s home. Some have been on their own a long time, and then a stranger tries to tell them what to do. This is where patience comes into play.”