Foster Kids Find A Holiday Home Through Oklahoma DHS Program

Editor's note:  An earlier version of this story contained a link to the DHS web site where people interested in joining the program could get more information.  The link supplied by DHS was incorrect.  Here is the correct link. DHS says the response has been tremendous.

Hundreds of Oklahoma children are away from their families, through no fault of their own.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services is launching an effort to make sure they have a home to go to, even if it's just for the holidays.

Working in retail Lyndall Edwards has spent the holidays pretty much working around the clock. Unable to get away for the holidays, he's opening his home to some little ones he's never met.

"It is a nice way for us to share more than just the holiday but part of our heart," Edwards said.

Last Thanksgiving, the Edwards family decided to invite two children from the Laura Dester Shelter to their home for the holiday. And Edwards admits, at first, he had his doubts.

"That I'm going to put my family in peril. But it wasn't... these kids aren't delinquent kids. They're put in this situation by no choice of their own," he said.

DHS says on any given day an average of 250 children are in shelters like Laura Dester.

"Our shelter staff do a wonderful job of taking care of children. But we know children do best when they're in a loving family and so that's really an opportunity that we wanted to give them for Christmas," said Sheree Powell, DHS Spokesperson.

"It just felt like a travesty the more I learned about it... just sounded like a no-brainer... these guys are just hurting," Edwards said. 

Edwards says the twin 7-year-old boys who visited them for Thanksgiving got plenty of play time and a home-cooked meal.

"We've got a child approximately the same age. And they went into the toy room the bedroom and digging in the toys. And they're there. They're in the zone," Edwards said.

And this Christmas, they plan to give another child a chance to get out of the shelter and spend the holiday in a home... even if it's not their own.

"It's really something that needs to be done. And it doesn't take money. We had to set two extra plates what is that?" He said.

DHS is simply offering this as a choice for children in shelters in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. A spokesperson says they don't have to visit a home if they don't want to go.

The agency also hopes families will look beyond the holidays and think about taking these children in on the weekend or throughout the year.

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