Meet our Families - Matt & Ashley

Meet the Grissom Family! Matt and Ashley have been married for 5 years and have a 1-year old son and 4-year old foster daughter. The Grissoms have been foster parents with MCJFS for 3 years. In that time, they have had 4 children placed in their home. 

Beginnings
I (Ashley) first felt called to foster after going on a missions trip to Costa Rica where I worked with kids and families trying to reunify. After we got married, we weren’t ready to start our own family yet, but I still felt called to foster care. Matt was on board immediately.

Likes
After graduating college, we felt like there had to be more to life than just working and coming home. Fostering gives us a sense of purpose and impact. It’s really cool to see kids grow and change over time and to be able to be a safe space for them. Seeing kids and their families succeed is amazing!

Challenges
The first few weeks of a placement is hard, and navigating the system can be challenging. Coordinating, managing, and advocating for services can be tough, but having MCJFS support and guidance has been great. Our coordinator has been very available and very helpful.

Advice
We have a very supportive family and community. To be a foster parent, you have to rely on your community, whatever that looks like. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and know that you’re not alone. And just say yes! People say it takes a special person to foster, but the only thing that makes us special is that we said yes.