GREENBRIER VALLEY W.Va. (WVDN) – Jessie and Tyler Gruskievich never imagined their family would look the way it does today. What started as a childhood dream for Jessie has blossomed into a beautiful reality – three children who, as Jessie puts it, “look just like us” despite no biological connection.
Jessie knew from age 15 that she couldn’t have biological children, but that didn’t deter her dream of having a large family. “I wanted eight kids,” she laughs, while her husband, Tyler, “wanted maybe one.” When they married, Jessie was upfront about her situation, and Tyler shared her passion for foster care and adoption.
After years of unsuccessfully trying to have kids, the couple had a realization. “Why are we paying doctors all this money when there are hundreds of kids in our own communities sitting in foster care?” Jessie recalls. That moment led them to Children’s Home Society, where they met Suzanne, their home finder, who would become instrumental in their journey.
“Being a foster parent means being there in the interim when kids need a safe place to be, whether that means for a month, a day, or forever,” Jessie explains. It’s a definition that has evolved since they first started, shaped by real experience rather than assumptions.
Their journey hasn’t been without challenges. Jessie remembers when their oldest daughter adamantly refused adoption, saying she wanted to stay in foster care until she turned 18. But after working through various experiences, the same daughter came home from school one day and announced, “Mom, I want to be adopted.”
Another powerful moment came when their middle daughter shared a profound realization during a car ride home from a basketball game. “God really knew what he was doing,” she told Jessie, “because something had to happen when we were kids, and then something had to happen when we got older and you guys were ready, so we could come home.”
The Gruskievich family’s experience highlights both the joys and complexities of foster care. As Jessie notes, their daily life looks different from traditional families in ways people don’t always consider. Comments from well-meaning community members can be challenging – like being told they don’t look old enough to have a 19-year-old, or questions about where their children “came from.”
“We don’t always think about how our comments and the things we say can impact people who are different than us,” Jessie observes. Even holidays like Mother’s Day carry complex emotions, as Jessie explains: “For me to be their mom, they had to go through incredible trauma with their mom.”
Janice Richmond, the new CEO of Children’s Home Society, provides context for the urgent need in West Virginia. The 129-year-old statewide agency operates 14 main sites and eight emergency child shelters across the state. Currently, children are staying in hotel rooms because there aren’t enough foster homes available.
“Every day right now in West Virginia, there’s a pretty long list of kids that are staying in hotels because there’s not a foster home for them to go to,” Richmond explains. “Some of those kids have been in those hotel rooms for quite a bit of time.”
The organization serves Greenbrier, Summers, Pocahontas, and Monroe counties through their Lewisburg office, providing not just foster care and adoption services, but also independent living programs and community support for grandparents raising grandchildren.
Betty Hendrick, who serves on both the local advisory council and state board, emphasizes that community members don’t have to become foster parents to make a difference. “Don’t just think about it. Get engaged with Children’s Home Society, and they will help you to make the right decision whether it’s the right path for you.”
The organization offers various volunteer opportunities, from mentoring teenagers at shelters to joining fundraising efforts. Their annual fundraiser at the West Virginia State Fairgrounds has raised nearly $48,000 in recent years, with every penny staying local to help children in the four-county area.
Jessie’s primary advice to new foster parents is simple: “Trust your workers.” She explains that policies and procedures that might seem frustrating exist for important reasons – to protect everyone involved.
“It’s just a season, hang in there,” she encourages those facing difficult times. Drawing from her background as a pastor, she references Psalms 34:4: “Sometimes we’re stuck in that comma, like in that gap where it’s hard for us to see the other side, but when you’re in the comma, the promise is coming.”
Richmond adds that potential foster parents shouldn’t let fear stop them from investigating the possibility. “It’s okay to be afraid, but don’t let that fear stop you from at least investigating it and finding out what it could be like.”
As Jessie puts it, “We as a society do a lot of complaining about problems, but this is something we can be part of the solution for.” Whether through fostering, adopting, volunteering, or simply being more mindful of how we interact with foster families in our community, there are ways for everyone to help.
For those interested in learning more about foster care, adoption, or volunteer opportunities, contact the Children’s Home Society Lewisburg office at 304-647-3430, visit their Facebook page (Children’s Home Society West Virginia – Lewisburg Site), or check their website at www.childhswb.org.
The Gruskievich family’s story is a testament to the transformative power of opening your heart and home to children in need. As Richmond notes, “Our best recruitment tools are our foster [and] adoptive parents and word of mouth and telling their stories. That’s what really usually ignites that spark in other people to say, maybe I could do that.”
