Five hundred children passed through this house. A stranger's wrong turn got the last 14 out.
A stranger's GPS sent him down Highway 114 past a burning house in north-west Georgia, and the fourteen people asleep inside, a couple who have fostered more than 500 children, all got out.
James Burke had fallen asleep in his recliner. His wife Larita and twelve children were in their beds. 1
Just before midnight on Saturday 17 October, a man he had never met was standing over him telling him to get out, because the house was on fire. 1
The family call him Mr Casey. He had been driving home to Alabama with his son when his GPS sent him down Highway 114, south of Lyerly in Chattooga County, Georgia. 1
The road was new to him. From the top of the hill he saw the glow. 1
He woke James Burke, and the two of them roused the house together. Larita came out, and so did twelve children: eleven of them adopted, one of them a grandchild. 12
Fourteen people in a house that burned down to its walls, and all of them got out. 2
"If it had been another five minutes, it would've been a different situation," Larita Burke said. "We wouldn't have made it." 1
"He was on the wrong road. His GPS put him on the wrong path. He's never been down that path before, and he said he knew that something was bringing him down that road when he saw the fire from the top of the hill; he knew he had to take action. I'm so thankful that he did." — James Burke 1
Mr Casey also helped get the firefighters to the scene. The fire destroyed the house and the family's two vehicles. 1
The Chattooga County Sheriff's Office said the cause is under investigation. 1
Fifteen years, five hundred children
James and Larita Burke have been foster parents for 15 years. In that time they have brought more than 500 children into their home. 1
Five hundred children in 15 years. I did the sum twice before I believed it. 1
The figure makes sense because foster care is meant to be temporary. Georgia places a child in foster care when a juvenile court judge decides that the child's safety at home is compromised. The parents then work with the state towards reunification, and the child lives somewhere else in the meantime. 4
The state says just under 10,000 children and young people are in its foster care system. It says it needs more caregivers, particularly for teenagers, sibling groups and children with complex needs. 4
Two weeks before the fire, James Burke finished chemotherapy and radiation for tonsil cancer, his sister wrote on the fundraising page she set up. 5
The morning after
By the following Tuesday, the nonprofit coordinating help said the family's immediate needs had been met, including clothes and other essentials. 3
That nonprofit is Flourish Foster Care Closet & Support, which works out of Summerville with children in foster care and the families looking after them. 3
The children have been separated and spread across the region. 3
The three-year-old keeps asking when they go home. "They see the burnt house, but we remind them that it's still our house," the couple said. "It just needs to be fixed." 1
"It's overwhelming how much, immediately, people called to ask, 'Hey, what do you need? What can we do?'" Larita Burke said. "I didn't realize this county was as wonderful as it was until something like this happened." 1
They are looking for a rental big enough for all 14 while the house is rebuilt. 2
Where the money goes
Renia Evans, James Burke's sister, opened a fundraiser on 19 October. By Wednesday morning it had reached $13,016 from 157 donations. 5
The page says the money is for emergency housing, daily essentials and the longer rebuilding. 5
Flourish is still collecting gift cards, restaurant or grocery cards, and money, which can be dropped at the Chattooga County Tax Office during business hours. 3 The nonprofit lists its own donation route and a monthly giving option. 6
What it takes to do it
For anyone reading this and wondering about the thing the Burkes did: Georgia approves foster caregivers through its Division of Family and Children Services, or through one of more than 100 private child placing agencies. 4
Two conditions come first:
- At least 21 years old.
- A US citizen, or proof of US residency.
Then each applicant works through the rest:
- A virtual information session.
- Pre-service training.
- A medical exam.
- Child protective and criminal record checks.
- Proof of current residence and financial stability.
The training is the National Training and Development Curriculum, taught over five weeks or ten, and built for children who have lived through trauma, separation or loss. 4
Prospective caregivers can call 877-210-KIDS, or use the live chat at fostergeorgia.com, where the people answering are foster and adoptive parents themselves. 47
"We are traumatized, of course, but you know what? We're going to turn this page, and we're gonna continue our lives because we have so much to live for," Larita Burke said. "All of our babies made it out, and that is so amazing." 1
James Burke said he would like to keep fostering once the house is rebuilt. 1
References
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4Foster Care in Georgia
dfcs.georgia.gov
- 5Help James and Larita Burke Rebuild
gofundme.com
- 6Flourish Foster Care Closet & Support
flourishcloset.com
- 7Foster Georgia
fostergeorgia.com
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