Meet Brian Newsome | Executive Director of Fostering Hope

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Newsome and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I grew up in an upper-middle class suburban home with two loving parents. My grandparents were a part of my life as well. I never experienced a time in my life when I didn’t feel loved or protected. When I attended school, it was with an expectation of good things, and a worldview that people are inherently good. I knew bad things happened, but only on an intellectual level.

Then, when I was a newspaper reporter for The Gazette in Colorado Springs, I covered a high-profile child abuse death. The little girl was 2 at the time – the same age as my daughter. Thinking of this child, and all she suffered through before her untimely death, compared to my daughter, loved and protected, really made a mark on me.

I didn’t act right away. I left journalism and spent the next 7 years working in healthcare communications and marketing. But my wife and I kept coming back to this idea that we needed to do something. We didn’t know what that something was, but eventually concluded that my work and life experience could be used in the nonprofit space. I joined Fostering Hope to have a part in the healing and hope that this poor girl all those years ago didn’t have.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Fostering Hope recruits volunteers to serve as “aunts, uncles, and grandparents” to foster families and to young adults who have aged out of foster care. These volunteers are there to provide both practical and emotional support for foster parents as well as the children. These volunteers do the kinds of things that the child welfare system is not designed to provide, but which are known by science to help with healing after trauma.

For instance, when a volunteer can be a non-judgemental listening ear to a foster mom, it helps that mom to endure the emotional difficulties and stay attuned to her children, whereas without this support she might become overwhelmed or quit. These volunteers light up at the sight of the children, which reinforces their sense of self-worth and re-establishes trust. Young adults, meanwhile, get an opportunity at a level playing field compared to their peers, which is not the case elsewhere in the country.

Support ranges from date nights, laundry, transportation, and a listening ear for the parents. For the children, it is attending school concerts and sporting events to cheer them on, helping with homework, and just paying attention. For the teens and young adults, it is help with employment, learning to drive, housing, and how to live on their own.

This may sound simple, but it is profound in its implications and impact. As David Brooks, author and New York Times columnist has said, being seen and heard is as fundamental as food and water. The U.S. Surgeon General has classified loneliness and isolation as an epidemic. Fostering Hope has found a viable answer, at least within foster care. Instead of 50% homelessness, we’ve seen 4%. Instead of 48% employment, we see 90%. Instead of 33% graduating or getting a GED, we are seeing 100%.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We are in Colorado Springs, so Garden of the Gods, a hike up the Manitou Incline, and a trip to the Olympics Museum. We’d probably grab a bite at King’s Chef

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are too many mentors and influencers in my life to pick just one, but my loving family comes to mind.

Website: fosteringhopefoundation.org

Facebook: facebook.com/fosteringhopefoundation