For children entering foster care, life can shift in an instant. New homes, new schools, new routines. Some children move between multiple placements, adjusting again and again to new environments.
But in the middle of that uncertainty, there can still be a steady constant. The YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties is committed to providing every youth in foster care with a free membership so they have a place that remains familiar and welcoming, no matter where they’re coming from. For Kaitlin, a foster parent of nearly ten years, those moments often start with the YMCA.
Since around 2015, Kaitlin and her family have welcomed more than 250 children into their home, many through emergent placements that happen with little notice. These are the moments when everything is unknown. There’s no routine yet, no sense of what comes next. But one thing remains consistent.
“The Y was something familiar,” Kaitlin shared. "Even if it was a different location, kids would recognize it. It wasn’t scary.”
Familiar Spaces in Unfamiliar Moments
That sense of familiarity matters. For many foster youth, the YMCA is something they’ve experienced before through camps, child care, or past placements. Walking through the doors again can feel like stepping into something steady during an otherwise chaotic time.
Often, Kaitlin would bring new placements to the Y within days, sometimes hours, of arriving. While paperwork was completed, kids would sit together and color. Then they’d head to the pool.
The pool quickly became a favorite. Not because of structure, but because of the lack of it.
“There’s no pressure,” Kaitlin explained. “They can just play. They don't have to interact if they don’t want to, but they can if they do.”
That freedom gives kids space to be themselves, something that can be hard to find during times of transition.
Building Routine and Belonging
For children in longer placements, the Y becomes part of a new routine. Classes, sports, and childcare programs offer opportunities to build friendships and feel a sense of belonging.
One child Kaitlin cared for found connection through ballet, forming friendships that helped ease the transition to a new school and community.
These small moments of connection add up. Over time, the Y becomes more than a place to go. It becomes something kids can count on.
Support That Keeps Families Together
In some cases, that support is critical.
During the height of COVID, Kaitlin was caring for two elementary-aged children with significant behavioral needs while also trying to maintain her job. The YMCA’s Before and After School Child Care program provided the structure and support they needed during the day.
Without that support, the placement may not have been sustainable.
Instead, the program helped stabilize the situation, allowing the children to remain in her home while receiving consistent care in a safe, structured environment.
For foster families, access to reliable care can make the difference between a placement continuing or disrupting.
Access Makes it Possible
Through donor support, foster youth in Pierce and Kitsap Counties receive free YMCA memberships, removing financial barriers and opening the door to daily opportunities for connection, movement, and stability.
“We can go every day if we need to,” Kaitlin said. “It gives us something healthy and active that they actually want to do.”
Beyond activities, the YMCA offers something deeper. It creates a sense of normalcy. A place where kids are treated like anyone else, where they can explore interests, build relationships, and simply be kids.
“For foster youth, so much is taken away,” Kaitlin shared. “Being part of something, having that sense of belonging, it really matters.”