Violence, addiction, poverty – not all children are in good hands with their biological parents. This is where Kathrin Raab steps in as a crisis foster mother.
Kathrin Raab and her husband have been providing a home for more than four years to children who cannot stay with their biological parents – for example because they have been abused or neglected. The 37-year-old is a crisis foster mother.
“Our biological daughter was born prematurely. We didn’t want to risk that again, so we opted for long-term care,” she says. This is how son Lukas (name changed) came into the family – and with him the desire to help other children get a good start in life.
Clarify the situation
To date, Raab has accompanied 17 children between the ages of a few months and three years on part of their journey. On average, they stay with her for about four months. “That is how long it takes before the situation is clarified and the child is returned to the parents, a long-term foster family or a shared apartment under supervision,” explains spokesperson Ingrid Pöschmann of the Vienna Child and Youth Welfare Office.
Lots of time, love and patience
If a child needs help, it can be done quickly. “The social worker can be with me and the child within half an hour,” she says. Some arrive in a pitiful condition, afraid or very hungry. But others are also open and would play immediately. “The children need a lot of time, patience and love,” says Raab. Many would experience this and stability for the first time in their young lives.
Memories of protégés
The crisis foster mother made footprints and handprints of each child; these hang on the kitchen wall together with a photo of the little ones. Raab: “I think the best part is when I see that the child has developed well with me and is going to a loving foster family or back to the parents.”
Source: Krone
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