Sunrise Parents Welcome Two More to their Family
Jeff and Kathleen Grams are the proud parents of Harriet and Tobias Grams. Their adoption occurred on October 5th, 2021 in Hart County. Jeff and Kathleen are Sunrise foster parents with the Bowling Green foster care office.
In the picture above, Jeff and Kathleen are on the far left, with Tobias and Harriet on the far right.
Ricky*, age 13, and his sister, Riley*, age 11, were referred to Sunrise after they were removed from their home due to extreme neglect. They lived in seven different cities and states in the last two years. Their mother would pick up their few belongings and move every time it was discovered the children were not in school.
They often lived in their vehicle and would have short stays in homeless shelters. When they did have a home, their mother never allowed them outside, often leaving them in filthy rooms without food or appropriate clothing.
But God had a plan when they came to Western Kentucky. Accepted by an awesome set of Sunrise foster parents, it was soon discovered that these kids were significantly behind in education and in motor and social skills. The mother was heartbroken when she learned that one of the children didn’t know how to run. Each time Riley tried, it would be awkward and she would fall. Can you imagine a child not knowing how to run and play?
Ricky and Riley were loved and nurtured by this HUGE family who had several other adoptive and foster children. After being robbed of their childhood – hiding out and virtually trying to survive – they learned to laugh, play games, and discover what it means to just be children.
Ricky has learned that he loves to cook, and Riley has taken a leadership role as the oldest female child, and is often overheard giving loving advice and direction to her foster siblings. Ricky and Riley are now thriving!
They have made lifelong friends and have a wonderful support system through their foster parents, Sunrise therapist and case manager, as well as their church family. We are so thankful that God has allowed Sunrise to minister to these children and so happy this family said YES!
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of individuals.
On August 4, 2020 Andy* was placed at Sunrise’s Cumberland Adventure Program (CAP) in Bronston for beyond-control behavior that made it impossible for his mother to keep him safe. From the day he arrived until just a few months before he left, he literally shook from head to toe with anxiety, daily.
The staff at CAP dealt with the usual beginning issues: Andy was angry that he was not at home; he resented being away from family and friends; and he was having issues adjusting to the program. With time, he began to acclimate to the program and build relationships with peers and staff. Thus, his transformation began.
Andy worked very hard in individual and family therapy to build a more positive relationship with his mother and brother and replace negative thoughts and behaviors with positive, more appropriate responses.
On June 8 of this year, a young man with a very different mindset discharged and went back home to his mother and brother. “Yes sir,” and, “No, ma’am,” were now his normal responses when asked to do something. He had learned consideration for what was best for the other boys living in the Sunrise cabin as a whole rather than just what was best for him personally. Andy now has a stronger belief in himself that will help him when others try to control his thinking and actions. These positive thoughts and behaviors have become second nature to him.
Susan Hicks, Andy’s therapist at CAP, received a call from Andy’s mom a few weeks ago. She cried as she thanked Hicks and the other staff members for returning the son she once knew back to her. Hicks thanked her but explained that all the hard work and positive choices were done by her son, and Sunrise only provided him with skills that Andy chose to utilize to bring about those positive changes. Some days in the cabin are hard, but this particular day went a little bit easier for the staff at CAP because they knew our program had helped this young man return to the home and bright future he so rightly deserves.
*Name has been changed to protect the identity of individual.
Sunrise is pleased to announce that by God’s wonderful grace we have reached a contract agreement with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS). We are proud to be that partner and will continue to do our best to help children and families across this commonwealth. We are thankful for this day and opportunity.
We are also thankful for the prayers and support from thousands of Kentuckians. It has been amazing to hear from so many that care deeply about this ministry. We have had many friends across the state that have stood up and shown their support for Sunrise. And all of this made a difference.
We are blessed by all of you who have stood beside us in our fight for Kentucky’s kids.
This has not been an easy road, but we are so grateful that we do have a signed agreement between Sunrise and CHFS. We have been knocked down many times before, but we are now ready to get up and fly. So, join us. Stand beside us. Walk with us. And let’s fly together toward the future that God has set before us as we serve Kentucky’s most vulnerable.
With much appreciation,
Dale Suttles
President, Sunrise Children’s Services
After completing her second year of Sunrise’s independent living program and continuing her education at Bluegrass Community & Technical College (BCTC) – Danville Campus, Sara* has completed three housing applications for programs to assist with living upon her transition from independent living later this year. She has developed an online crafting business to aid in her income throughout the pandemic when she was working reduced hours at her place of employment.
Sara has actively participated in Kentucky’s Health Access Nurturing Developing Services, also known as HANDS, and Haven Care Pregnancy Resource Center since giving birth in 2019. She plans on continuing her education at BCTC in the summer of 2021 and graduating with an Associate’s degree. Sara successfully navigates being a first-time mom to a healthy 18-month-old girl, while going to school and working as a young mother.
Sara is on her own path to success after overcoming obstacles during her first years of independent living and previous years in foster care.
*Name has been changed to protect the identity of individual.
At the age of five, Madison* and her three sisters were living with a mother who deeply loved them, but was not able, because of her own drug and mental health issues, to take care of the children.
So social services stepped in and removed all four children, placing them in foster care. After Madison had turned six years old, she was placed back with her mother, along with her sisters. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the movement from home to home.
When Madison was 10 years old, she was placed in a loving Sunrise foster home for a time due to the poor living conditions in her mother’s home, coupled with Madison’s continued deterioration of performance and behavior in school. Back and forth she moved from foster care, to mom, to foster care – but now it was with the same Sunrise home each time.
Even when Madison went home, her foster parents befriended her mother, helping to buy clothes and shoes and food. But by the time Madison was 12, she came to live with her foster parents and would never go home to live with her mother again.
Four years later, Madison is approaching her 16th birthday. Her foster parents have recently become her adopted parents, and Madison is doing better than ever. Her grades have improved at school. Her behavior is also improving at home and school with each passing month, and Madison is in the process of expanding her skill set by getting a job in her local community.
While Madison misses her mother and sisters, she is very grateful that her new parents have loved her unconditionally for the last six years, and will be her forever family for the rest of her life. Madison is truly blessed, and so are her parents! Another Sunrise adoption. Another life changed!
*Name has been changed to protect the identity of individual.
Sunrise values the partnership we have had with the Commonwealth of Kentucky for more than 40 years. Our goal is to ensure that Kentucky’s most vulnerable children receive the vital services and care they need, whether through Sunrise or through other agencies. We are still committed to working with the current administration in changing the lives of kids for the better.
The year 2020 was not at all what any of us thought it would be. But the uncertainty, heartache, and fear that many of us experienced during the past year are frankly what our Sunrise boys and girls have been facing most of their lives. Thanks be to God, and because of your generosity, not even COVID-19 could stop us from helping families mend their brokenness and find a path to hope and healing.
We took care of children every day. Some of our children developed COVID-19. For them we never stopped providing care, and they all pulled through. We are still here, doing the important work.
Even in the midst of a pandemic, Sunrise had much to be thankful for in 2020. During the year, we celebrated 59 adoptions. Since the beginning of our foster-to-adopt program in 2006, our total adoptions are now 582! Thank you for your part in bringing families together.
Your generous giving has also helped our kids find their eternal homes. During our last fiscal year, our ministry reported 3 rededications, 19 baptisms, and 27 professions of faith. God is doing miraculous things in the lives of our kids, in the hearts of our families, and through your faithful giving.
Have you ever thought that the children we are serving here at Sunrise are not here by coincidence? Could it be that the children we serve everyday have been placed here by God to be part of a more positive world? Let’s empower all of them to grow up to embrace that world we are handing over to them. Let’s empower them to be more confident, to be successful, to embrace the challenge of the day.
Through your support and prayers, we can be the ministry that prepares them to be change agents for a better society, to become good moms and dads, to become involved in their communities and to understand something bigger than them is driving this big ole ship. That something is a God that truly loves them.
Let’s inspire them all to heights they never could have imagined. So please pray for our country and leaders, and pray that Sunrise might have the wisdom to lead children in a way that enables them to embrace all that we hand over to them.
None of us know what 2021 will bring, but we believe that He has blessed this ministry in the past, He will continue to do so through 2021. Yes, the pandemic has brought countless challenges, but we have found a way, through God’s leading and your help, to continue providing care to our most vulnerable. Thank you for joining us on this incredible journey!
Because of you, the love of Christ has been shared with the broken hearted, and children and families have been given a fresh start. Your compassion is greatly appreciated this year and always. Your prayers and support will help us continue to change the lives of children and families in a constantly changing world.
With great hope,
Dale Suttles
President
Elizabethtown, KY – On Friday, February 12, boys living at Crossroads Treatment Center in Elizabethtown were moved to the Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington. Both facilities are therapeutic residential programs owned by Sunrise Children’s Services.
“The federal Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) has brought about a great many changes in the world of child welfare,” explained Sunrise President Dale Suttles. “One of those changes is fewer children are placed in congregate care, and as a result, the Kentucky Cabinet for health and family services has instructed providers to reduce the number of beds they make available.”
Because of this, Sunrise made the decision to close its boys’ residential treatment facility in Elizabethtown and move the boys to its newer and more functional Spring Meadows facility. Sunrise’s Glen Dale Center, a residential program for girls in Elizabethtown, will remain open.
“The Crossroads program has often had a waiting list of children in need of its service. However, the facility itself could only house up to 14 children,” said Suttles. “With the move to Spring Meadows, Sunrise will be able to accept more referrals for this much-needed service for hurting boys.”
A new use for the Crossroads facility will be evaluated in the months to come.
Jeremy Teal is the director and owner of Paul Mitchell The School in Lexington and Louisville. About 17 years ago, Jeremy was introduced to the salon business and eventually fell in love with the industry. “You genuinely connect with people with passion in this industry,” said Jeremy. “There’s just a contagious energy. It’s what they wanted their entire life. So, I just kind of fell in love with that energy and that passion.”
He also fell in love with the students that attend Paul Mitchell The School. “I kind of affectionately named our school the island of misfit hairdressers, kind of a play off Rudolph and the island of misfit toys,” shared Jeremy. “Most of (the students) are creative. Nobody really understood them because of their creative nature, because of the way they learned. They didn’t connect well with teachers.” As a result, The School uses curriculum that targets the best way each student processes new information.
Jeremy truly cares for all of his students. So, it seemed natural that with this kind of compassion for young people, Sunrise would eventually find him. “I walked into the school one day, and somebody left a folder and about 10 business cards on my desk,” Jeremy said. “So, I opened it up. It was all the information about Sunrise.”
Although Jeremy didn’t know much about our ministry at the time, eventually Sunrise would become part of the school’s annual fundraising, thanks to the name on the business cards: Rick Burslem, Sunrise Vice President for Marketing & Advancement. Jeremy had known Rick for several years. “I knew if he was willing to put his name behind something, and jump on board to support it, it had to be worthwhile,” Jeremy shared.
Jeremy quickly discovered a similarity between his students and Sunrise kids. “With some of the stories that Rick told me in the very beginning, it’s very similar,” Jeremy explained. In fact, as he described his own students at Paul Mitchell The School, it became evident that he was also describing many of the children and youth in our Sunrise programs: “They never really fit in where they were. Now they have this opportunity to be somewhere where they are loved every day, where they’re not judged, and where they can come be whoever it is they want to be. It’s empowering for them.”
In the beginning, Jeremy’s decision to make an investment in Sunrise was mostly about his relationship with Rick. Now, it’s about the potential in our Sunrise boys and girls. “An investment in Sunrise is a lot like an investment in the future,” Jeremy said. “My hope would be – and I think it would be amazing – that the future governor of the state comes out of Sunrise. I think a kid like that can take (his or her) experience and really understand what needs to be done versus the kid who has never experienced true tragedy or a true hurdle in life. How do you man a state, a city, a county – how do you lead – if you’ve never really experienced that before? So, I think the kids that come out of Sunrise are kids that can make a difference, that can do something bigger and better.”
Jeremy doesn’t hold back in encouraging others to invest in Sunrise as well. “With Sunrise, you get kids that have life experience that want to see things done differently,” stated Jeremy. “That’s what I would tell someone that wanted to pick a charity. You’re investing in that future. You’re not investing in a cure or a cause. You’re actually investing in a kid. To see that kid grow and flourish and become something better – I think there is no greater reward than that.”
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