LIVING
by PATTY RASMUSSEN
Brice and Allison Hope have opened their home and hearts to more than 40 children through fostering and adoption. Hope: a simple four-letter word carrying so much possibility, so much promise. “Hope anchors the soul,” penned the writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews. The verse is painted on a sign on the door to the Social Circle home of Brice and Allison Hope and their six children—three biological, Maddie, Ty and Jack, three fostered and adopted, Louie, Mia and Bryson. Theirs is a story rich in hope, doused with generous splashes of faith and love, endurance and resilience. They met in college, Allison an incoming freshman, Brice a junior, at Atlanta Christian College, now Point University, in West Point. Both grew up in Gwinnett County, where they knew people in common and perhaps, without knowing, crossed paths. They dated and clicked, and though they were young, they talked about important subjects: faith, their futures and the family they hoped to have someday. “Our first conversations were about kids and how many we were going to have,” Allison said, “and that I also wanted to adopt. I always knew I wanted to adopt.” Brice, focused heavily on mission work, was not even sure he wanted kids, but, as Allison said with a chuckle, “He came around.”
52 THE NEWTON
The Hopes married in August 2002 when both were in their early 20s. They attended a church where fostering was the norm, and just six months after marrying, they started training through their local Department of Family and Children Services office to become foster parents (the rules have since changed, as foster parents now have to be at least 25 years of age). Six months later they got two surprises.
“We found out we were pregnant with our oldest, Maddie, the same month we got our first foster placement,” Allison said. “We were fully vested in this little girl. We had her from 6 months until 18 months. She ended up going to live with relatives
out of state. It broke our hearts. It was like the death of a child. We cried and grieved and were not prepared.” However, the heartbreak did not stop them from taking in children for weeks, months, even years—like the 14-year-old boy from the youth group at the church where Brice was youth pastor. He had been kicked out of school, so DFCS let Brice take him to work with him each day to prepare for his GED. After three years with the Hopes, he moved back with his mom. It was not ideal, but by that point, “he got an experience of what a marriage looks like, what a family looks like,” Brice said, “and he got that GED.” The couple still sees him today. Over time, the Hopes fostered 40 children, and while Brice and Allison still loved the mission of fostering, they were worn down by the administrative side, especially the bureaucracy and lack of accountability and transparency from DFCS. They needed a break. By this time, they had moved to Rockdale County. “I thought our family was complete,” Allison said. However, when their youngest son, Jack, was 3 years old, a presentation at church flipped the switch back on.
