February 17, 1999

A Beaumont family finds joy
as foster parents
___By Russell Rankin
___Buckner News Service
___BEAUMONT--Life for Jessica and Rachel never will be the same. Dreams of proms, first cars and hometown high school football games are secondary now, and not just because tumultuous family environments led to their placement in the Buckner foster care system.
___Their typical teenage dreams and ambitions have been rudely shelved by the real life struggle of fitting babies into their young lives, living and learning a hard lesson in reality.
___Both girls came into the care of Buckner in Beaumont with similar circumstances. Scared, unsure, pregnant and facing the possibility of being separated from their babies, in Buckner they found compassion, acceptance and, even more importantly, hope.
___Hope came in the form of James and Shireika Whitmore, a couple who have dedicated themselves and their home "to help God's children."
___Shireika is a former lead childcare specialist at Buckner Children's Village in Beaumont, and James works at the Mobile Chemical plant in Beaumont. They had felt a "tugging" in their hearts over several years that they should become foster parents.
___"We knew the Lord would prepare a way," she said. "When God gave us our new home, we knew we were to dedicate it to serving him."
___"What could the three of us (the Whitmores and their 6-year-old son, Anthony) do with such a big house?" she asked, looking around the spacious home, borne out of years of hard work and commitment. "My work at Buckner flowed naturally into being a Buckner foster parent."
___When Jessica

SHIREIKA WHITMORE holds Candice, daughter of their foster daughter Rachel. (Photos by Scott Collins/Buckner)

came to the Whitmore's home in September 1998, she arrived as the 18-year-old mother of Jordan, a bright-eyed little boy, about to celebrate his first birthday.
___The Whitmores realized they were more than just foster parents. In their new role, they assumed the position of not only being parents but also teaching parenting to their new foster daughter.
___In Rachel, their role was compounded. Still pregnant, this 14-year-old needed much more than a place to live.
___"I was right there with Rachel the whole way through her delivery," Shireika said. "In the labor/delivery room, I held her hand and prayed for her through the birth process."
___Into their home, the Whitmores welcomed a seventh person, Rachel's daughter, Candice.
___The Whitmore home has been the perfect setting for Rachel and Jessica and their infants, said Ginger Culver, director of foster care for Buckner Children and Family Services in Beaumont.
___The uniqueness of the situation is accented by the special blend now found in the Whitmore home. There is no second thought given to the fact that Rachel and Jessica, who are Caucasian, and their bi-racial babies live with the Whitmores, who are African-American.
___They are a family, and James and Shireika are "Paw Paw" and "Maw Maw" to the girls, committed to teaching the girls about life, parenthood and unconditional love.
___"These girls and their babies are not only a part of our family, they are intertwined with our extended family," Shireika said. "My parents treat the girls like their own granddaughters."
___Jessica and Rachel are thriving in the caring environment of parents and grandparents, she added. When Rachel had a breakthrough quarter in her freshman classes, Shireika remembered her bounding through the door saying, "'I can't wait to tell

JAMES WHITMORE and his wife, Shireika, play with Jordan and Candice, children of their foster daughters.

Granddaddy that I made the A/B Honor Roll!'
___"And just like a good grandfather, he'll pull out some money to reward them," she said.
___Members of the Whitmore's church, Mount Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church, located just across the road from their home, also made it clear that Rachel, Jessica and their babies are members of their family as well.
___These are still hard times for the young mothers, however, knowing their lives never will be the same again, now that the "I" is a "we."
___"It's been very hard being a mom," Rachel said. "Before, I could do whatever I wanted; now I can't. There is a lot more to my life now."
___Although both girls have a history of opposition to authority, Culver said they realized their lives hung in a precarious balance, and the Whitmores are the best thing they have going.
___"Kids in this situation don't usually respond favorably to parental figures, and most, when they turn 18 years old, hit the door running," Culver said. "But Jessica and Rachel finally feel like they belong. And they are adamant about staying with the Whitmores and making it."
___Tears, which in the past would have been choked back defiantly, flowed freely for Jessica as she reflected on how important the Whitmores have been to her.
___"God sent them to take care of me and my baby. She's more of a mom than my real mom," Jessica said. "She understands my problems and listens to me. I've never had that."
___Rachel, quietly reflective as Jessica spoke, kissed her baby's fingers, which were wet with her own tears.
___"I was kind of mad at myself when I found out I was pregnant," Rachel said, barely above a whisper. "If I hadn't been able to come here, I have no idea where I'd be. Probably in the graveyard."
___"I want these children to know that they can achieve anything and be good mothers," Shireika said. "We want to impart to them good moral values and good decision making skills, teaching them that once they truly want to make a difference in their lives, that difference will come.
___"We can only show them the way. They have got to grow and learn on their own," she said, looking over her large family of children and babies. "What a blessing. I love them all."
___

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