All children deserve love and care from their families. However, not all children are lucky to have responsible and loving parents.
Some of them are in need not only of food and clothing but also of love and affection. This is why foster parents like Melissa Servetz work hard to provide all the needs of these children and make sure they are loved and cared for.
Melissa Servetz was a foster mother who is now a single mother of four children. She had fostered over 56 children in the past few years but the two siblings that she fostered for the last time changed her life forever.
Servetz’ fostering journey started when she volunteered at a children’s home. In 2015, she became a fostering mom of babies and young children.
She is a former teacher who worked in social services for 5 years; hence she has a heart for volunteering and helping other people.
She had fostered a lot of children in the past years and wanted to retire from fostering. However, her maternal instinct told her to give it one last chance and foster one more.
Little did she know that her one last shot at fostering would give her the greatest sense of fulfillment.
Servetz was teaching at Tampa Bay when she found out about these children who needed a home. They were going through a home eviction and were under an agency’s care. She called her agency and they confirmed that the children needed a foster home.
She was eager to foster the two girls and agreed to look after them once she had the time. “About a week later, I picked up Jade in a parking lot with her case manager. And then a week after that, I transitioned Destiny and it was like the most natural thing ever,” Servetz shared.
“I remember those days like it was yesterday, picking them up and just carrying them.”
The two girls have two more siblings, Matthew and Emerson. The siblings had a very strong bond and Servetz did not want to separate them so she decided to adopt all four of them.
At first, she had to be really careful dealing with the kids. They all had trauma, especially Jade and Destiny, who experienced abuse.
They were doing counseling, which also helped her deal with the kids better. “Adoption and foster care do pull on your heartstrings,” Servetz said.
“But at the same time, you know you’re doing something and you’re helping that child at the moment that they need you the most.”
For Servetz, her kids are the best children in the world. She described Jade as very smart, funny, and outgoing while Destiny is lighthearted and loves to joke around. On the other hand, she thinks Matthew is the happiest kid one will ever meet.
“He was born happy. I’ve had him since he was 3 days old and he rarely is upset. He loves dinosaurs and trucks and Paw Patrol.
Then Emerson is right behind him. Happy. ticklish. They’re all super fun and super active and just a lot of fun to be around,” said Servetz.
While fostering has its fair share of challenges, Servetz finds it very rewarding. “I would do this all over again if I could because the rewards and the benefits definitely outweigh anything,” she said.
She also encourages people who are interested in fostering and parenting. “If you do have it in your heart to open your home, open your heart, it’s not easy.
There are appointments, there’s travel, there are case managers and lots of people coming in and out of your home but if you can kind of look past that and say, ‘Hey, you know what, I want to really help and I want to give a child or children or siblings, whoever, a loving home,’ we need you and we would be most grateful to have you as part of our community.”