Georgia nonprofit forced out of building after water pipes rupture
Nonprofit forced out of building after water pipes break
A nonprofit organization is asking for the public's help following massive flooding at its Lawrenceville officers. Care4All Children Services helps to find homes for children in foster care. This weekend the Arctic blast caused a massive pipe break.
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Veronica Guobadia made the devastating discovery on Christmas Day.
Care4All Children Services suffered massive flooding after pipes in the attic of the building ruptured during the Atlanta area's days-long freeze.
The executive director is now trying to salvage what she can while working on a plan to keep the agency running, at a time when their services are needed more than ever.
The therapeutic foster care agency contracts with the state to help place children in licensed foster homes.
"We've helped thousands of children during our 10 years of foster care services in Georgia," Guobadia said. "We are just one of the agencies that we try to do everything we can to try to license homes, license foster homes, and place those children in foster homes."
Now, the Lawrenceville non-profit is in need of help to replace the car seats, clothes, food, children's toys, laptops and other items they planned to distribute to foster families.
"When we get donations we save them until we place that child, because sometimes we place kids in the evening, sometimes at night, and the foster parents don't have the car seat, the stroller, the crib, so we try to give it to them when we place those children in their homes," Guobadia said.
The flooding could not have come at a worse time for the agency, when there is a dire need for foster parents in Georgia.
"It's been a struggle trying to get back where we were prior to the pandemic, so this devastation has impacted us already ‘cuz we had a class that was supposed to come to do pre-service orientation," Guobadia said.
Despite the major setback, Guobadia is committed to continuing the work offsite, while repairs are underway.
"Once we clean this up, we need to get back in that room, and start training parents because we have children who need placement," said Guobadia.
While Guobadia is asking for the public's help to replace damaged items, she also encourages Georgia families to consider opening their homes to foster children.