By Aime Turberville | Development Coordinator
As of 2022, there were over 10,000 kids waiting to be adopted from foster care in the state of Texas. Many of these kids are older and have spent years moving from placement to placement within the system. Kidsave’s Weekend Miracles program works to change this.
In Houston, Kidsave creates opportunities for older youth in foster care to build meaningful, long-term relationships with adults. In 2025, Weekend Miracles Houston (WMHOU) served 49 youth, 27 of whom found forever families and a sense of belonging. So far this year, the program (WMHOU) is ahead of last year, having served 59 youth to date and helped create 12 permanent connections. Because these bonds form over time, Weekend Miracles champions older foster youth by giving them a voice and a choice in their journey toward saying “yes” to family and lifelong support.
This innovative approach helps shine a light on kids who otherwise may have aged out of the system alone; kids like Jada, who found her forever family throughthe Weekend Miracles program. After spending years in foster care, she met host volunteers Jenilyn and Austin at a WMHOUevent. Over time, their relationship grew to become a connection like no other for Jada, and when Jenilyn and Austineventually asked Jada how she felt about being adopted, she realized they were committed to becoming her family. For a young person who had experienced so much uncertainty all her life, their commitment gave her something she had been waiting for: a permanent place to call home.
At a July Connection Quest event, youth and prospective families played games and worked togetheron activities to complete a final quest. The event led to a hosting match between 17-year-old Isaiah and WMHOU host volunteer LaRita, who has since begun advocating for him in his search for anadoptive family. Isaiah has not given up hope of finding his forever family, and this new connectionrepresentsan important step toward that goal.
Kidsave also recognizes that not every young person feels comfortable opening up in a large group, which is why WMHOU has held strategic events for children and families who want to connect in a more intimate setting. In October, Kidsave held a strategic event at Momentum Indoor Climbing in Katy, TX. The event gave youth and families who had expressed interest connecting further the opportunity to spend more time getting to know each other.Bonding happened through shared experiences (for many, a first-timeexperience) in indoor rock climbing and a shared meal. For someone like Zaiden, one of the program’s more reserved youth, the smaller setting created an opportunity to open up and engage with prospective families. By offering different ways for youth and adults to spend time together, Weekend Miracles helps young people build relationships at their own pace and decide whom they feel comfortable welcoming into their lives. For youth who have experienced multiple placements and uncertainty, having an adult who continues to show up can be the beginning of a relationship that lasts well beyond foster care.
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