Army of Angels

Albertina Kerr provides a wide range of services designed to support people with developmental disabilities. The people Kerr serves have mental and physical disabilities resulting in impairments to daily functioning
and include diagnoses such as Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy. They receive care, skills training and support for community involvement in their homes, in the community and in group homes.

In 2012, Albertina Kerr added to its community inclusion offerings with the acquisition of three new programs that offer opportunities for people with developmental disabilities to participate in the workforce. Art from the Heart are studio and gallery where 40-50 artists work, Cans for Kids recycling program which serves nearly 100 companies in Portland and Salem, and The Snack Squad which stocks treat boxes for more than 300 local businesses.

Rebecca, who has been coming to the studio for more than seven years, enjoys weaving, pottery and painting, especially in the style of her favorite artists, Thomas Kinkade. She’s also a fan of the theater program
where her great sense of humor shines. Most of all, she enjoys her work because “we do a lot of cool stuff, it’s fun. And, I get paid when something sells.”

Having watched her aunts care for kids in foster care, Renee Pinkerton was just a little girl when she knew that someday she wanted to provide a home to children in need. Today, Renee and her husband Mike are caring for kids with special needs through Albertina Kerr’s foster care program. Renee says that providing foster care "has changed me as a human being. It has taught me what it means to really love. How to walk alongside a child who is struggling to make life work and then to bring them to the place to be able to enjoy the day and what it has to offer, to be safe and understand what it means to be loved."

Renee and Mike are just one of dozens of families that provide two types of foster care at Albertina Kerr. Special Needs Foster Care is for children with developmental disabilities who need additional support and supervision to complete day to day activities. This care is usually long-term and requires a major commitment. Many of the children served in the Therapeutic Foster Care program come from a background of severe abuse and neglect. As a result, these children have emotional challenges that require special services and therapy.

Albertina Kerr foster care providers are part of a caring team of experienced professionals that provide an exceptional level of support to foster children and each other. Foster care providers receive 24-hour access to staff, ongoing training, skills training assistance, respite care and financial compensation. Albertina Kerr provides foster care to children around the state and certifies foster homes in Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington and Yamhill counties.

Albertina Kerr works closely with the child, their family, their care team and foster care providers to understand and meet the unique needs of each child to improve the child’s ability to succeed at home and school, and to reunite them with their families whenever possible. "To have an agency that supports you in a very difficult role is the thing that has helped us to continue to navigate through lives of children that are very difficult, systems that are very difficult, a world that doesn’t always understand," says Renee. "They are like an anchor that has helped us stay on course." Mike said, "We have realized in our experience that you just can’t do foster parenting by yourself. You need a team around you to be able to be successful."

Links:

• www.albertinakerr.org