Deaf Foster Youth

Deaf Foster Youth

Michele Kassa is a single professional woman — and mom to five kids. How did that happen?

For years Michele has been the leader of a ministry to the deaf community at the Rock Church in San Diego. As such, she has participated in frequent outreaches, serving the less fortunate. One time, while in Mexico, she got the idea of opening an orphanage for deaf children. That thought simmered a while, until it dawned on her she didn’t need to go to a foreign country to make a difference.

She realized she could do something to make a difference right in her own home!

Michele purchased a five-bedroom house that has become Southern California’s only foster home for deaf children. Two to three out of every 1,000 children born in the U.S. are born deaf or hard-of-hearing. Resources for the Deaf are extremely limited, and these children wind up living in a world of little communication or being placed in an environment that can meet their need, but is far from home. This makes a scary, heartbreaking situation even worse. Often, siblings in the foster care system must be separated because there aren’t enough foster parents who know American Sign Language.

Michele is now mentor and foster mother to three teenagers, two of them with hearing disabilities, and she has legally adopted the first deaf girl who was placed in her home.

If you’re interested in helping a deaf child as a mentor or a foster parent, says Michele, realize the commitment. “Once you get involved in the life of a child, the only path is forward,” says Michele. You can’t let the kid down. Seek a strong support system, pray, and get prepared. Start by clicking here for specifics on how to start a deaf youth mentoring ministry.

Michele did it. So can you. Just go out and DO Something!