Displaced youth finds enrichment

On New Year’s Eve, 10-year-old Ronald found himself yet again sitting in the living room of a new foster home with a new mom, new siblings and a new dog. By February he had opened up to the family, said his foster mom, Robin Burke. “He fits right in now. He really looks up to my son, Mister ... he tries to dress like him, act like him.�

Ronald shares a room with Burke’s 18-year-old son in a well-kept rental in a Pasadena triplex. The fifth-grader likes his new home, though he admitted he worries it won’t last.

The shy and quiet boy has lived in four foster homes in seven years. Authorities removed him and his older sister from their biological family because of abuse and neglect and placed them in separate homes.

Ronald’s first foster situation lasted three years -- until a family member hit him with a belt. The next family planned to become the child’s guardian but after three years changed their minds and moved to another city without him. He stayed with a third family for three months, until they learned Ronald might have sickle cell anemia. Later he tested negative.

“The experiences of losing not only his biological family but also several foster homes have left Ronald with a very deep scar,� said Litsa Mitchell, director of the Sycamores Foster Family Agency. The group placed him with Burke and is sending him to camp. Despite all the upheavals, he has managed to stay focused at school and is pretty close to his grade level.

“Even though he now has a secure placement, he still freezes up when an unfamiliar adult comes to the home, because he thinks it means he will be taken away again,� said Mitchell, who added that “he’s the kind of kid who gets overlooked and seems to accept that treatment without resistance.�

The agency is sending him and his foster sister to Camp Max Straus with help from the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Fund. The financially strapped foster mom, recovering from a knee injury that prevents her from going back to her job as a city bus driver, has managed to gather the $200 the family is required to pay to send the two.

“Camp is wonderful; it gives them a break,� Burke said. Mitchell added: “Foster funds just pay the basics. Kids need more than just the basics. They need enriching experiences.�

Ronald, who wants to be an artist, is not sure what to expect, but he’ll leave for camp knowing that he will be returning to the same loving family.

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About 11,000 children will go to camp this summer thanks to the $1.4 million raised last year.

The annual fund-raising campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which this year will match the first $1 million in contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.

Donations are tax-deductible. For more information, call (213) 237-5771. To make credit card donations, visit www.latimes .com/summer camp. To send checks, use the attached coupon. Do not send cash.

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