LEHI, Utah — In Utah, there are more than 2,000 children and youth in foster care but there are fewer than 1,000 families to help care for them.
On Wednesday evening, leaders and advocates, including Utah's First Lady Abby Cox, gathered to push for awareness.
"We need more people to rally around our foster families, build that community of support that helps our families, help the children they care for and improve outcomes for everyone," explained Dan Webster, director of operations at the event.
Community members shared their experiences in foster care during the "Faces of Foster Care" event to emphasize the impact loving families had on their lives.
One former foster youth, Rosalee Hafen Ladd, shared in a statement that when she was a young teenager, she and her eight siblings were placed in foster care.
There wasn't a single home that could care for all nine siblings together so they were separated and spread across several homes.
After bouncing around to a few foster homes, Ladd said in a statement that she met a family who she continues to have a relationship with into her adulthood.
"I learned to trust and depend on others and I learned that I was important and began to believe in family again," she said.
Webster hopes the event encourages more Utah families to consider foster care and make an impact on a child's life.
"Tonight's turnout is remarkable," he said. "We have, it looks like we're going to have close to 200 people here in person and about half that online and so we're really excited."
To learn more about fostering or to begin the process to become a foster parent, click here.
