Agape Kids House is located in Bedford, Indiana.
We serve children in Lawrence, Orange, & Monroe Counties.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please send us an email at agapekidshouse@gmail.com.
Welcome to the Agape Kids House!
It is our hope that you will find this website both informative and uplifting regarding our efforts to support the children and youth of our community. Amid the nationwide opioid epidemic, they are among the most vulnerable and often displaced by household substance use, domestic violence, and parental incarceration. Children and youth in our community need our help now more than ever before. We believe that by investing in the well-being of our youngest citizens we are committing to a better tomorrow and a bright future. We invite you to be part of this commitment in Lawrence County.
Our Purpose:
Provide a safe and supportive temporary placement in Lawrence County for children awaiting suitable long-term housing.
Our Vision:
Be a beacon of hope in Southern Indiana for children and youth impacted by neglect, abuse, and family hardship.
Our Mission:
Promote the well-being of children through safe environments while increasing community awareness and support of foster care.
Testimonials
When I was three months old I was taken from my biological mom and placed in the foster care system. My biological father is mentally handicapped and has spent most of his adult life in and out of prison on sexual assault charges. My biological mother has a severe learning disability, which made it extremely hard for her to not only protect herself but also to protect me. I don’t blame her at all, I often think that she wasn’t given the kind of tools and help she needed early on in life. I am so thankful for those individuals who took me out of a bad situation to put me in a much better environment. I was one of the lucky ones. I lived in a foster home with a terrific lady and her husband. I wasn’t moved around from place to place like some children. How upsetting would it be to finally get comfortable in a home and then have to leave to go to another foster home?
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Finally, when I was three years old my wonderful parents adopted me. Meeting my parents and being adopted by them are the happiest moments of my life. I can’t even remember a time before I was adopted. It’s as if my life started the day they signed the adoption papers. I have two wonderful parents, a brother/sister in law, a sister (also adopted), and two nieces and a nephew I love more than anything. I’m now married, we have two amazing puppies at home, and I finally have my dream job. Had I not been adopted my life would be completely different. Life worked out the way it was supposed to.
I think the Agape House is something that we really need here in Lawrence County. There is a horrible drug epidemic going on right now and it has hit Lawrence County hard. There are so many children that are in horrible situations, and CPS has to put them in a safe environment immediately. They need a stable home to go to before they are officially placed in a foster home. Sometimes the first foster placement is not always the best choice, so they end up being moved around. This would give everyone time to find the right home for the child.
- Elizabeth -
Why the Agape Kids House is important:
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It gives the kids a safe spot to stay till an appropriate home is found, and it gives them time to kind of chill out from the moving and gather themselves.
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It’s also keeping siblings together till they can find a home that will take both/all of them. I think that’s important because it’s scary going through it all alone and I only had cousins with me, I couldn’t imagine having siblings and not being able to be with them during times like that.
My personal experience and why it would have been good:
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I moved around 4 or 5 times while I was in foster care, and sometimes I wouldn’t stay at a house very long, or the home wouldn’t be a good fit for me. I think the Agape Kids House would’ve not only given the case workers more time to find an appropriate home, but it also would’ve given me some time to just calm down from having to up and go again.
- Allie -
Scholarship
Agape Kids House sponsors a scholarship for an Indiana University student who has been a part of the foster care system. Please meet our most recent recipient, Aseret.
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“Hello, I’m Aseret. I’ve been studying psychology on a pre-med track and last semester I added on sociology and criminal justice minors. When I got the call about this scholarship, I was floored. I was informed that caring donors had created a scholarship for foster care students because they had always tried to provide and support youth in foster care. Beyond this, I learned that the scholarship’s creation made the university more aware of the barriers facing them in regards to identifying students like myself and truly assessing need and providing support. I am so happy to be a part of this legacy being created.”
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Pictured: Aseret with former board member, Becky Goller