'No One Is Talking About These Kids' | COVID-19 Pandemic Presents Challenges For Children In Foster Care
ROCKVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- Not knowing what the future brings is a regular part of everyday life for children in foster care, but the coronavirus pandemic has made everything even more uncertain, with some now finding themselves without a place to live.
Rob Scheer is the Co-Founder of Comfort Cases in Rockville, a non-profit that provides children in foster care with bags full of essentials - to ensure they don't have to carry their belongings in garbage bags - an unfortunate reality that Scheer himself had to face.
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"I aged out of the system. I became a homeless teenager in northern Virginia," he said. "Living on the streets my entire senior year of high school."
He said right now, another major problem for children is abuse that's going unnoticed because they're not in school, and teachers who would normally notice signs of abuse, are not able to report it.
"We're going to start seeing the numbers of abuse that they've already seen that in local hospitals of kids coming in with severe abuse," Scheer said.
Others are aging out of the system without a place to go.
"Go to a shelter? Where there's 60, 70, 90, 100 people. We know we're supposed to be social distancing, but no one's talking about these kids," Scheer said.
He added that right now, more than anything, these children are wanted and loved.
"We want children knowing we love them," Scheer said.
To donate to Schaffer's non-profit, click right here.
For more on how to help local children in foster care, visit the Maryland Department of Human Services website.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
