69. New Normal- New Space- The Foster Lane is BACK in Janesville and ready to help parents be the parents they want their children to remember

Hello, all!

Can we believe that it has been six months since the United States declared a public health emergency and the world all but shut down. Millions of businesses were impacted, including mine. At the start of 2020 I had an office in Milwaukee and an office in Janesville and business was really starting to take off. I was meeting more and more clients was just starting the talks of hiring a therapist for my Milwaukee office.

Then I got sick. I contracted and became deeply ill with COVID 19 in early March and my business did an about face. I quickly closed both locations and determined that Zoom was the “new normal”. I created a home office and went about my business. I am deeply lucky. My business didn’t flounder in the times of COVID, it thrived. I started seeing more and more clients until I realized one day that I was OVER the maximum amount of clients I said I wanted to see. Approximately 75% of my clients were parents that are working toward reunification and I quickly learned that not all internet is the same.

I put my thinking hat on and pondered the possibilities. What could I do to better support the clients that I was serving? How could I connect with this population in meaningful ways and help send kids back home– and to much safer environments than they left? I put it off as long as I could… then one day I decided that it was time to re-open a physical office. I took to the ads and found a space. It is across the street from the police station in Janesville and the parking lot is an approved place for people that live out of their cars to park at night. The space had room to grow when the right therapist comes along and, most importantly, has room for parent/child visits to occur.

I found as many things around the house as I could to bring to the space and, little by little, it is coming together.

While the space isn’t complete… I do want to welcome you all to the newest office space for The Foster Lane. I have already met clients in the space and meet more in the coming weeks. It is amazing the work that can be completed together!

There are many things that need to be set up and I will get there little by little. If you want to help, I would love to accept it.

Ways you can help:

• Donate gently used items that can be used in the space and passed along to families as they reunify
  • Children’s toys age range from infant to teenage
  • Pack N Play
  • Children’s utensils
  • Bottles
  • Bibs
  • Children’s books- with a focus on emotions
  • BIPOC written/focused books
  • Cooperative board games
• Purchase and ship any item off our Amazon wish list. It is constantly evolving!
• Share this post so others may help as they are able

Together we can do great things. Together we can change the world! Thank you for coming along on this journey with me!

*Disclaimer* The Foster Lane is committed to the safety and well being of all that we work with. As such, there are safety precautions in place for all that engage in meeting in person. This is for the safety and well being of the children who come for visits, the adults that are involved in their care, and our staff. If you have any questions in regards to the safety standards, please do not hesitate to reach out to [email protected]. I will be more than happy to share.

Thank you!

Sarah