Love Heals Youth - Foster Kids Need You

Game Changers with Jeff Newkirk

Welcome to Game Changers with Jeff Newkirk, where we speak with people who have done something to make this world a better place. It’s simple: inspire, educate, and let’s change this world!

On today’s episode, Jeff welcomes guest Rebecca Smith Nash to discuss a troubling and sensitive subject: foster care. In the U.S. alone, there are 700,000 children in foster care. 80% of the children in foster care in Texas have some mental health need. Similarly, 80% of prison inmates grew up in foster care.
Rebecca has a wealth of experience as a counselor who also runs two organizations. She earned her Bachelor's degree at Southwest Texas University and her Master’s at Sam Houston State University. While working on her PhD, she began her private practice and was working at Houston’s Harris County Jail, the third largest county jail in America. She began working with kids in foster care as the foundation of her practice and fell into the unique niche of families involved in custody modification. Rebecca explains that custody modification occurs when children refuse to go to a specific parent’s home. In her work, Rebecca has found that sorting out the parent’s issues often solves the children’s problems immediately. This goes to show that children are the products of their environment. Don’t miss Rebecca’s anecdote demonstrating the importance of parental emotional behavior on their children.
Then, Rebecca shares what drew her to her work in the foster care system. Since launching in 2021, her organization, Love Heals Youth, has exploded with support. Although COVID prevented the non-profit from talking off sooner, she shares the bright side of that frustrating time. It inspired Rebecca to digitize all her client files, which means she can serve her clients from anywhere and ensure that no one is left behind. Because many of her clients are young children in the foster care system who move around frequently, this newly digitized service allows for continuity in services no matter where they live. Their services are also 100% free. 60% of Love Heals Youth’s clientele are foster youth, and 40% are homeless.
Although this topic can be weighty and sad, Rebecca does not miss the opportunity to share some of her most significant success stories. She sheds light on how helpful prayer has been for her personally and professionally to sort through emotions and encourage an internal dialogue. Before wrapping up, she shares some exciting upcoming events for Love Heals Youth.
Finally, she reads her moving poem Love Heals Youth.

Learn more about Love Heals Youth and get involved!

Learn more about Jeff Newkirk.

Do you have any game-changers in your life? Be sure to let me know so we can celebrate their story and contribution to our world. Go to https://gamechangerswithjeff.com to enter your name to be on the podcast