Christian Bale is building a village of foster homes to ensure siblings stay together

Growing up in foster homes can be challenging, especially when you’re separated from your brothers and sisters. It’s a mix of feeling sad and lonely but also finding the strength to keep going.

For many kids, going into foster homes means being in a new place with new people and routines. It’s hard because you don’t have your mom or dad around, and it’s even harder when you can’t be with your brothers and sisters.

They’re like your best friends, and not being with them feels like losing an important part of your family.

Christian Bale, the actor who played Batman, is starting a new foster care project.

He’s working with Together California, an organization he helped create, to build a foster care village.

This village will have 12 foster homes for kids, two studio flats for older kids learning to live independently, and a big community center (7,000 sqft) for both kids and guardians.

The main goal is to keep siblings together in the same village and, if possible, the same home. This helps reduce the emotional pain of being separated when placed in foster care.

He says, “Imagine the absolute pain and trauma of losing your parents and then losing your brothers and sisters on top of that. That’s no way to treat kids.”

“And so, we will be the hub for that. I hope that this village will be the first of many. And I hope that people, Californians and Angelenos, know to join us in opening our eyes to what’s happening under our noses. These are our children, and we must help our children,” he added.

Christian got the idea from his dad, who was really into helping people. He always had people without homes staying in their houses.

“As a kid, I didn’t really know what I was doing,” he recalled. “But I loved it. And I just admired my dad because he went out of his way to care for others. We always had other people coming and living in our house who didn’t have homes, etc. That’s just the guy that he was.”

However, his daughter, Emmeline, showed him the way.

In 2005, when Emmeline was born, Christian realized how vulnerable children can be, and this became a guiding force for him.

Christian Bale confessed that he started thinking about what it would be like if he and his wife weren’t there. Simultaneously, he spent nights searching for ways to help in Los Angeles.

The revelation that their area had the highest number of foster kids in the country shocked and angered him.

He admits it’s more complicated than he thought. Foster kids need help even when they grow up and leave the system.

Regretting not knowing about it earlier, he and his wife resolved to focus on this issue. They committed to doing everything possible to bring about positive change.

Christian Bale started building this special village of foster homes about 60 miles north of Los Angeles. He hopes to finish it in 2025, costing $22 million.

Initially, Christian had a naive idea of creating a community where siblings live together. Still, he realized the complexity of the issue and the need to support these kids as they age out of the system.

After visiting Chicago and meeting with children and family services, he co-founded Together California with Tim McCormick and Dr. Eric Esrailian, CBS News noted.

The project faced challenges, including the impact of COVID-19, but Bale persisted. They found support from LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and the city of Palmdale.

Christian Bale, who began acting as a child and has had a successful career, including winning an Oscar for best-supporting actor, expresses deep satisfaction with this project. He hopes this foster care village is just the beginning.

In the United States, there are around 391,000 kids in foster homes, according to 2021 data. The foster system helps more than 600,000 kids every year, per CBN.

Christian Bale’s special village is a big step in ensuring these kids have a place to call home with their brothers and sisters.

Watch the groundbreaking ceremony of Christian Bales’ foster homes below: