Happy Pride from Hephzibah!

Jul 1, 2025

“Don’t hearts touch through our work?”

wrote Davida Williams, Hephzibah’s retired Foster Care Specialist, in an email about a particularly challenging case. As an out lesbian herself, she famously welcomed same-sex families with open arms when she started at Hephzibah in 1978. You can read the full story here.

We believe in the power of hearts colliding; as the Pride Parade winds its way through Chicago this Sunday, Hephzibah celebrates alongside our same-sex foster parents, LGBTQ youth in our care, and our uniquely diverse staff this June!

“Gay and lesbian adoptive and foster parents are nothing new to Oak Park’s Hephzibah Children’s Association,”

writes Amy Wooten for Windy City Times in 2006. As Hephzibah’s capacity and reach has increased over the years, we have supported numerous same-sex parents through the process of fostering youth displaced by trauma. When circumstances stand between a child becoming their authentic selves, Hephzibah is proud to stand and fight for truth and individuality for youth everywhere. Read the full story here.

Learn More about Fostering!

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THANK YOU for Making the Holidays Magical!

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Emily and Christopher Carroll

Timothy and Amy Davis

Ron and Cathy Fox

Amy Muran Felton and Thadford Felton

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Kenna and Michael MacKinnon

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