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SALT LAKE CITY — Around a table covered in paint, brushes and half-finished projects, a group of women sits talking, laughing and listening. It looks like a simple craft night, but for the moms gathered here, it’s something much more. This is Sip & Be Seen, a monthly support group for adoptive and foster moms, created by nonprofit Raise the Future. It’s a place where caregivers can slow down, connect and talk honestly about what life after adoption really looks like. “It’s an opportunity for us as moms of adopted kiddos or foster kiddos to come together and just be in this space,” said Lehua Vincent, an adoptive mom who attends the group. “We can share the ups and downs, the joy, the pain, the struggle and everything we experience.”
A Place Where Caregivers Feel Understood
Vincent said one of the hardest parts of adoption and foster care is how isolating it can feel. “Not everybody can understand what we go through as caregivers unless you’re really living it,” she said. “This is a safe space for us to share.” Before becoming an adoptive mom, Vincent said she thought parenting followed a clear set of rules. Experience quickly changed that. “This journey has taught me that parenting doesn’t mean you have to be perfect,” she said. “There’s not one rulebook. Each kiddo is different.” Vincent is the adoptive mom of two children, and she said parenting kids who have experienced trauma requires constant learning, patience and advocacy. “I’ve learned that it’s important to constantly advocate for his needs, for the support he needs and for the resources required,” she said. “Not just for him, but for his siblings and for myself.”
Why Raise the Future created Sip & Be Seen
Rylee Evans, Youth Connections Manager at Raise the Future, said the idea for the group came directly from parents asking for help. “It’s kind of a lonely place to be,” Evans said. “A lot of parents felt like no one understood their experience or their adopted children’s needs. They felt alone.” So Raise the Future decided to create a community where caregivers could find others who truly understand. “We wanted to create a space where people could find people like them,” Evans said. Sip & Be Seen launched in October and has grown steadily since. “Some people come every month, sometimes we get new people,” Evans said. “It’s been really amazing.”
Support that doesn’t stop after adoption
Evans said one of the biggest misconceptions about adoption is that it marks the end of the journey. “Once you adopt a kid, you actually lose a lot of support,” she said. “Before adoption, you have caseworkers and therapists. Afterward, a lot of that goes away but the child’s needs don’t.” Sip & Be Seen is one way Raise the Future helps fill that gap. “This is a piece of that puzzle,” Evans said. “Making sure parents have support so they can support their children.” For Vincent and the other moms at the table, the group has become something they rely on. “For some of us, this is a lifeline,” she said. “Coming and engaging with other moms who are going through the same thing, it makes such a difference.”
How you can get involved
Sip & Be Seen is free and open to adoptive and foster caregivers. Information and RSVPs are available through Raise the Future‘s website. “We want people to know this exists,” Evans said. “Most of all, we want them to know they’re not alone.”
