“Despite all the bad circumstances that I dealt with and navigated, there were people who were meeting my belonging needs in a way that allowed me to continue to grow, learn, and thrive in spite of the things I was experiencing.”

Children in foster care are often deeply longing for connection, intimacy, and relationships. How can we offer children the support necessary to help them flourish and shift from surviving to actively living? How does their need for belonging affect the decisions we make in showing up for them?

Our guest today has experienced this personally. Gaelin Elmore is a dynamic and nationally sought-after keynote speaker, trainer, and thought leader. Motivated by his own traumatic childhood and lack of belonging after over 10 years in the foster care system, he now works with organizations and people to become “belonging-informed” in order to help children overcome trauma and unleash their potential.

In this episode, you’ll hear the difference belonging made in Gaelin’s life, his personal story of finding hope in impossible circumstances, walking away from a professional career in the NFL, and why belonging is a crucial consideration for every decision when supporting children in foster care.

Find the show notes and links to anything we discussed here: https://riversideproject.org/gaelin-elmore-28

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