May is National Foster Care Month. That makes these appropriate days for reflection on how local communities and nonprofit organizations work together, providing for children whose parents may have relinquished the responsibilities of caring for their offspring.
May is National Foster Care Month. That makes these appropriate days for reflection on how local communities and nonprofit organizations work together, providing for children whose parents may have relinquished the responsibilities of caring for their offspring.
La Mesa resident Shane Harris has a success story to tell, about finding mentors and father figures in the foster care system, after his natural father died of liver cancer when he was 8 years old. At the time, Harris’ mother was a drug addict who followed “the life” on the streets. He spent several weeks in the A.B. and Jessie Polinsky Children’s Center, a facility sheltering youngsters under 18 for safety’s sake when their parents might endanger them. Then, he was placed into eight different homes, with his longest placement for four years when he was between 12 and 16.
Harris is now 23 and the youngest pastor serving a church congregation in San Diego County. He also works part time as an outreach coordinator for a group called Just in Time for Foster Youth in the organization’s program “Bridges To Success for Young Men.” How did Harris get from that “very challenging time,” when he was eight and had lost the only figure in his life, to his current leadership roles shepherding churchgoers ranging from youth to senior years and mentoring other young men exiting foster care?
Harris said that he learned “faith and determination” even in the midst of “tough transitions” and lack of a stable living environment. He also said he “found his calling” when he was 16 and “came into a relationship with God.” He goes on, “I believe things work together to push you to a belief in God.”
And mentors along the way have helped too. Chief among those Harris mentions is Dr. John W. Ringgold, who for 37 years has been senior pastor of Bethel Baptist Church of San Diego. The two met when Harris was 18 and he was “transitioning in the church realm.” Harris ended up working in youth ministry at Bethel for two years and he says now that Ringgold has become a true father figure in his life and pastorate.
Don Wells is another man Harris names as a role model. Wells has been executive director at Just in Time for five years. Harris was among the first group of 17 when the “Bridges To Success for Young Men” was initiated. Wells describes Harris as impressive for being bold and articulate in “always speaking out from his sense of purpose” and his “strong convictions and opinions.” Wells further recounts that Harris “grew” in coming to see the “big picture” and developing “more compassion” and “humility” through working closely with others. Wells enlisted Harris as a video participant in a presentation about the “Bridges” program for college-bound foster youth, which serves young men in the foster transition ages of 18 to 26, providing them each with a laptop computer and transitional resources. Wells then decided about a year ago to hire Harris as a part-time outreach coordinator with the program.
Harris himself observes that he grew in “strength, patience and empowerment” through the “Bridges” program, and that he now shares his story to assist other foster youth leaving the system in becoming “confident, capable and connected.” And that connection is key. Harris said that the program’s resources will give out and wear out in time, but that the relationships he developed will be his for life.
Wells agreed, saying, “Our organization is all about relationships. We become people who care more, and our relationships will last a lifetime.”
Harris is taking sociology and biblical studies classes at Azusa Pacific University and will earn a bachelor’s degree in about a year. Harris founded a church, opened its doors and built and trained a community core team. His installation and blessing service was held on February 22. Forty senior pastors prayed for Harris and the City of Destiny Church before a gathering of 300 attendees. The City of Destiny Church, located at 2950 K Street in southeast San Diego, has services at 11 a.m. on Sundays and at 7 p.m. each Wednesday.
Also on the schedule of upcoming events for Harris are outreach preaching services in other California cities and legislative lobbying with the California Coalition for Youth, requesting reforms and increased funding for the foster care system’s response to homeless and runaway youth. In June, Harris will spend two days with this year’s “Bridges” program preparing other young men for life on their own outside the foster-care resources they have relied on.
Harris sums up that he has grown a strong foundation to work from in strategic life planning. He is enthusiastic and eager about sharing his experiences with anyone he can help, saying, “I’ve seen a lot of amazing turnouts. We have all gone through challenges.” He concludes, “I continue to not regret the journey.”
