Elicia Williams was a foster parent for five years, gaining firsthand experience in Colorado’s foster care system and the limited support parents and kids receive.
When a child is placed in foster care, they often arrive at their new home with emotional trauma and few belongings. The foster parent typically has little information about the child’s needs, likes and dislikes until after they arrive.
Elicia also felt the process frequently overlooked the child’s voice, with placements sometimes feeling transactional, like “here’s the kid, sign this paper,” leaving both the child and foster parents to navigate days of uncertainty and chaos before settling in.
“It was really hard for connection that first week because the kids are triggered all the time, and you’re trying to get all the supplies that they need,” Elicia says. “It’s just overwhelming to everyone.”
She knew there had to be a better way, one that didn’t put more pressure on Denver Human Services and caseworkers but instead helped foster parents and children adjust and connect.
In 2021, she adopted her daughter and launched The Light House Denver, a nonprofit that aims to ease a child’s transition into foster care and provide support for foster parents.
“We can step in and help that process. We help on that first day, kind of dealing with the trauma of going from one home to another,” Elicia says. “We also do emotional regulation classes for the kids who are in care and life skills for the ones who are emancipated or aging out.”
The organization also offers a support group for parents of children with trauma.
The nonprofit, which serves the entire metro area, began facilitating these classes in 2023 but has been on a hiatus for the last year as it finds a new location to host these programs. Soon, it will launch a new partnership with YMCA University Hills in Denver to bring these programs back.
The Light House Denver plans to scale its offerings beyond classes by opening a house in Denver County or Arapahoe County to host its First Light Program, which will help children during placement.
When a child enters the foster care system, they often spend six to 12 hours with law enforcement until they can be placed in a home. Elicia envisions The Light House Denver becoming a safe, interim space and physical home where the children can come, relax, talk about what’s happening and ask questions before moving into their new foster home.
“We help [the child] deal with being removed, so we slow that whole process down,” she says. “We try to get them set up for success.”
Children will also get to pick out clothing and toiletries to take with them to their next placement. And for the foster parents, The Light House Denver will provide a packet of resources and gift cards for groceries.
The Light House Denver is actively searching for a house and raising funds to open the home. It is working with Shopworks Architecture to design a comfortable and sensory-friendly space.
In the meantime, The Light House Denver puts on two events each year for families who have been impacted by foster care, including kinship fostering, adoptive and reunified families.
In the spring, the organization hosts an Easter egg chase. Around Christmas, The Light House Denver partners with local nonprofit Meghan’s Wish Foundation to open a holiday store where kids get to “buy” items for their families and the nonprofit wraps them.
“Most kids get stuff for Christmas. We realize that the kids are not greedy. … They’re literally the most generous kids, and they want to give themselves. This helps them to participate in the holiday,” Elicia says.
While the kids shop, the parents get pampered with massages, haircuts, food and more.
At the end of the day, Elicia wants The Light House Denver to be a community and resource for foster parents and kids.
“We’re going to be a community together,” she says. “The kids need the community [too].”
Sidebar Headline: Ways to Get Involved
- Volunteer your time at The Light House Denver’s classes, events or First Day Program
- Donate supplies, such as bedding, clothing, hygiene products, books, diapers, baby formula, backpacks or car seats
- Make a financial donation
- Help The Light House Denver find a permanent home in Arapahoe or Denver counties
Learn more at thelighthousedenver.org/get-involved or email The Light House Denver team at info@thelighthousedenver.org.