According to a report by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families, 15,379 youth aged out of foster care nationwide in 2024. That same year in Louisiana, the Department of Children and Family Services reported 181. In Shreveport and Monroe, there were 40.

ACF says the impacts of aging out of foster care are worse than all other exit types, resulting in poor long-term well-being for youth and expensive ongoing costs to states.

Barbara Lewis, co-founder of Faith and Fostering, knows this all too well. When you put a young face to each of these numbers, you understand why she and her co-founder, Christi Robinson, do what they do.

“I grew up in the foster care system,” Barbara says. “Eight different homes before I was 10.”

She was lucky to be adopted, but she knows others who were not so fortunate.

“When you turn 18 and are given a list of shelters and sent out on your own into the world, this is where my heartbeat comes from.”

Barbara is a former day care owner and has a background in ministry.

“I would see these single moms struggling, sometimes going back to relationships or down a road that led to poverty, not just for them but for generations to come.”

Christi Robinson experienced the struggles of youth aging out of the system through her work with Volunteers for Youth Justice and the Caddo Appointed Special Advocates Program.

“If we can catch them between 18 and 24,” Barbara adds, “before they are so deep in financial strain and desperate choices, we can give them a successful platform. We can be that ray of hope and sunshine.”

Faith and Fostering began in 2020, alongside the pandemic.

“God is God,” Barbara says. “He opened the door, and we were given seed money for a year. It was our green light.”

Since that time, the organization has grown in every way. Christi serves as executive director, and Barbara as community relations coordinator, along with four other staff members and an army of volunteers.

They currently have three group homes, each with a resident adviser, and, like everything they do, a bigger-than-themselves plan for a tiny home community.

Currently, the 12- to 18-unit tiny home community for women is in the administrative phase. They have worked with several business partners, including Gemco Building Systems, Lowe’s and All About Trees.

Their next step is to install water, sewer and electricity, all while raising funds.

“We would love to have a business or church sponsor each home,” Barbara says, “to purchase and sustain it.”

Their goal is to have the community up and running in 2027. There are also plans for a similar community for young men.

Another way they are raising funds for the tiny homes is their upcoming first Black Tie Bingo, formerly a Goodwill fundraiser that the organization passed on to Faith and Fostering.

The event takes place May 2 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., with Eastridge Country Club providing a setting and dinner. Sonja Bailes will serve as emcee, along with celebrity bingo callers.

There are prizes and opportunities to purchase tickets that not only support the ministry but also provide recognition for table sponsors.

Participants are assessed for the program after referrals through several channels, including the Department of Child Services, local law enforcement, churches and self-referrals.

“Some of these kids are so traumatized by their childhood that we first have to unravel those experiences as they learn to trust again,” Barbara says. “Then we focus on education, budgeting and preparing meals, as well as many other life and social skills, before branching out to employment and independent living. Given the right circumstances, all that brokenness, God can restore it. Having lived it, I know you can get past anything.”

Volunteer opportunities include transportation, birthday sponsors, mentors, administration, as well as hands-on service and event support.

“Don’t feel like you are not qualified,” Barbara says. “It takes a village. This is having 13 to 16 kids around the clock, and a child is still a child at 18. All along the way, there are counselors, coaches and mentors who are everything. Our prayer,” Barbara adds, “is that we can be a part of the solution.”

For more information about supporting Faith and Fostering through financial contributions or volunteering, as well as purchasing tickets to Black Tie Bingo, visit faithandfostering.org. You can also follow their progress through their website, quarterly newsletter and social media.

This article was originally published in the May 2026 issue of Three18 Insider magazine.