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Rob Scheer is the father of five children, whom he and his husband adopted from foster care. Their children came to their home carrying their possessions in a black trash bag—just like Rob 40 years earlier when he entered foster care.
Rob decided that was unacceptable, so he created a system where kids could transport their belongings with dignity. He shares his inspiring story in this episode of Motivational Mondays.
Rob never remembers hearing, “I love you.” Instead, he’s haunted by scars from the cigarettes that his father put out on his legs. When Rob turned 12, his parents passed away and he entered the foster care system. He went to school every day, determined that he wouldn’t be one of the 54 percent of kids in foster care who didn’t graduate.
On the day he turned 18, he walked home from school and saw a trash bag. He looked at his foster parents and listened as they told him he couldn’t live there anymore as they would no longer be getting a check from the state. Rob had “aged out” and was instantly homeless.
Rob emphasizes that the US foster care system isn’t broken—it’s shattered. The 430,000 children in foster care are there because of a choice someone else made. Some kids go to homes far worse than the ones they were taken from. From the moment a child enters the system, they know it ends at age 18 and 20 percent of those who “age out” end up homeless.
After Rob graduated high school, he joined the Navy and became a successful businessman. He then met Reece, who suggested adopting a foster child. Six months later, two young children showed up at his door with trash bags. Rob had been out of the system for 40 years, and they were still carrying trash bags. Three months later, Rob and Reece took in two more children.
Rob knows all too well how broken foster care is in the US, so he started Comfort Cases. Ten years later, they’ve packed and delivered 175,000 cases to all 50 states. Three years ago, Rob left his job to spend his life traveling to educate communities about children in the foster care system. Learn more about his mission and hear his inspiring story in this week’s episode.
Listen to the bonus episode to learn why the past home lives of foster kids must be acknowledged and why Rob encourages everyone to always be proud to tell their story.
Resources:
Visit Rob's website: comfortcases.org
Check out other Motivational Mondays episodes