Foster Parent Spotlight: Jeremy and Crystal Kidd
Jeremy and Crystal Kidd of Newark have survived a bumpy decade since their marriage in 2009. They have battled the heartbreak of miscarriage after more than a year of trying to conceive a sibling for their son, Jason (then age 5), maneuvered the ups and downs of fertility medications to finally get pregnant again, only to find out a few months later that Jason had a cancerous tumor on his kidney. The Kidds found themselves in a whirlwind of caring for a newborn, Parker, while also shouldering the burden of a diagnosis no parent wants to receive. In the middle of all this, Crystal also lost her job.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Crystal fell into a depression. Even after learning that Jason was cancer-free after a year and having the baby she desperately wanted, Crystal felt lost and felt the desire in her heart to nurture more children. Crystal says, “It’s funny, because as soon as I had Parker, while still in the hospital, I told Jeremy that I wanted another one.” The journey to “another one” was long and hard, tainted by yet another miscarriage and a failed private adoption. Eventually, the couple decided to become foster parents. In their classes, The Kidds were surprised to hear tales of abuse and neglect that had pervaded a system that was designed to prevent such things. They thought seriously of walking away.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through with this at this point. It was so different from what I was expecting,” Jeremy said. “(But) when you see something like that, you can do one of two things: turn around and walk away and say ‘that’s too much for me. Someone else will take care of it’ Or you can be that someone else.” Not long after, 3 siblings under the age of 4 (including a newborn) were offered to them as placement, needing a place to call home. Crystal says it was “hard to have them, but even harder to say goodbye.” Despite that first year of struggle and seeing their first group of children depart, the Kidds’ commitment to fostering remained strong. Crystal says, “I can just remember thinking, ‘if we can be one light in this sea of darkness, why would we not?’” The Kidds went on to adopt another child in the next year, as well as take a sibling group of 2 young girls.
As a current family of 7, the Kidds have found countless reasons to be thankful: Reasons that are not without heartbreak, but which are seen as blessings, nonetheless. “It’s so hard loving someone else’s kids and then saying goodbye, but if we can love them while they are here, however long they are here, it will fix our hearts.”
Make a Difference In A Child’s Life Today. Become a Foster Parent.
You can be that “someone” in a child’s life that brings light in a time of darkness by becoming a foster parent today. We are recruiting new foster parents each and every day. May is National Foster Care Month and we encourage you to consider becoming a foster parent with The Village Network.
For more information about becoming a foster parent with The Village Network, please call
800-638-3232 or visit thevillagenetwork.org/foster.