Soaring Beyond for Children in Out-of-Home Care

The teenager Tim came to Mustard Seed Youth Home from the fourth grade of elementary school. His mother was in jail for taking drugs. His father was gone and haven't heard from him since. Tim was raised by his adoptive parents since he was a child. Because the adoptive father himself has a moderate intellectual disability, plus the family's financial difficulties, the adoptive parents gradually became unable to take care of Tim. Under the referral of the Hualien County Government, Tim was arranged to move into the Youth Home.

when just arrived at Youth Home, Tim was very quiet. He had no habits to bath and clean up dirty dishes after meals. Perhaps the poor life in the past, Tim was anxious for food and material. Even though the Youth Home normally served three meals to the children, Tim still secretly hid the food under the bed or in a place he felt unnoticeable. His misconduct was discovered by the counselor as the food became rotted and smelled badly.

After being cared and taught by the counselors, Tim slowly established good habits and learned how to take care of himself in daily life. Also, he can clarify the difference between "wants" and "needs", and takes only appropriate amounts of food at each meal. In order to achieve self-control and normal satisfaction, at the same time, Tim began to understand the concept of item ownership, and got rid of the behavior of wanting to take items as his own.

This year, 16-year-old Tim has a stable life at the Youth Home. Because he is interested in cooking, he studied catering at school. He is grateful for the kindness of his adoptive parents to nurture him. This year's New Year, Tim takes, he returned to his adoptive parents' home and with the money he saved to hold a barbecue New Year's Eve dinner for them to express his gratitude. Last month, while a VIP guest was visiting the Youth's House to make donations, Tim volunteered to make muffins to serve the guest.

For the future, Tim holds infinite hope. Maybe he is to become a chef, or one day he can open a restaurant of his own. Before his dream is realized, Tim intends to enlist in the army for voluntary service in order to have a stable life and give feedback to the society.