PART 1: Demand Over Supply | Foster Care in Buncombe County

The Overlook with Matt Peiken

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!

There are far more young people in need of foster homes than there are homes to take them in. This is true all over the country, but it’s particularly acute in Buncombe County.
More than 100 local youth are now in homes outside the county because there’s such a shortage of spaces here. The challenge is greater when two or more kids from the same family need homes. These siblings are often separated for months at a time or even longer.
My guests today are Amy Hunstman of Buncombe County Health and Human Services and Whitney Burton of the nonprofit Lutheran Services Carolinas. Much of their work focuses on foster care recruitment and training. We’ll learn how the pandemic worsened the imbalance of supply and demand for foster care, particularly for older children and sibling groups. They also relate their own experiences—rewarding and challenging—as foster hosts, and talk about how the community can support foster children and families.
Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts!

SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games run through June 29 for the women's team and July 13 for the men's team at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus.

Support the Show.

Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!
Advertise your event on The Overlook.

Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlook
Listen and Subscribe: All episodes of The Overlook
The Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.
Podcast Asheville © 2023