Looking Back: Our Most Hope-Filled Moments of 2025
Our goal for the year in 2025 was Hope in Every Home. As the year wraps up, we asked our staff to share their most hopeful moment of the year in their job. Here is what everyone said:
"When I asked a 17 year old what he liked about living in his foster home and he said he felt like he could be a kid there again." - Trisha Jennett, Foster Care Caseworker
"One of my most hopeful moments was seeing [a teen boy] in his new adoptive home." - Susan Rice, Family and Permanency Specialist
"My most hopeful moment of 2025 was actually several...the number of adoptions I was able to be a part of. Although not part of the permanency team, I was able to follow along in the journey of children finding their forever homes. The brightness of the light of the family and their newly adopted sons and daughters made me feel hopeful that there truly is a family for every child waiting to find one." - Nicole Hirschman, Foster Care Caseworker
"Spending time with the kids at HALO - it always amazes me to see how much they grow and become more comfortable with their true selves throughout the 10 weeks." - Laura Oursler, Family Support Services Director
"My most hopeful moment of 2025 came recently at our foster and adoptive family Christmas party, when a young boy sat with his new foster family to take his very first Christmas photo with Santa." - Flo Rhue, Director
"Due to the housing crisis being such a huge issue with our community, the most hopeful moment I had this year was learning that our program was awarded some funding to help support families struggling with housing insecurity." - Sue Hausman, Placement Services Director
"My most hopeful moment was cheering on a family who has worked so hard to break cycles of addiction and trauma and safely reunify with their children!" - Stefanie Niemira, Visit Coach/HALO Admin
"Getting to witness a sweet little one who had been severely neglected learning to advocate for herself in therapy and growing more and more confident each time she visited the office." - Emily Anthony, Operations Manager