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Fifteen years is a long time to hold onto a single, five-minute memory. But for one young woman who grew up in the child welfare system in Northwestern Ontario, the most defining moment of her childhood wasn’t a grand vacation or an extravagant gift. It was the simple, quiet sensation of her foster parent brushing her hair.

“That meant the world to her,” explains Christa Little, Direct Resource Supervisor Kenora-Rainy River District Child and Family Services (KRRCFS). “It was just that experience of being cared for. It’s those things we take for granted in our everyday routines that stick with these children for decades.”

Child welfare in the Kenora and Rainy River districts is usually framed in terms of policy and geography. But at the heart of KRRCFS is something quieter: the conviction that a child’s life can turn on a single ordinary moment.

For families considering opening their doors, the fear is usually the same: that they aren’t qualified, or that their lives aren’t remarkable enough to make a difference. They are wrong. A game night. A seat at the dinner table. Brushing hair. These are the things that allow a child to stop surviving and start blossoming.

A former foster parent who opened his home to 16 children over 15 years puts it simply: his family never thought twice about it. “We did life together,” he says. “Wood, vacations, family dinners. Our foster children were treated no different from our own.”

Years later, when one former foster child was asked about her favourite childhood memory, she didn’t mention a trip or a gift. She said: living with them.

Christa Little calls this the “settle.” The moment a child stops bracing for the next disruption and begins, finally, to find themselves. “We just see them really flourish,” she says. “Develop independence, confidence. They have stability and from that, they find out who they are.”

You can’t put the settle on a spreadsheet. It shows up in small things: a child who spent three weeks watching family game night from the doorway finally pulling up a chair. A kid asking, for the first time, if their foster parent can come to their game.

In Northwestern Ontario, geography is emotional. When a child is moved away — even to a neighbouring town — they lose the very anchors that help them heal.

The places a child knows — their school, their team, their people — are what make up who they are. Moving them away doesn’t just change their address. It disrupts their identity.

“This is their community and this is their home and this is what they know,” Christa says. And icy roads and vast distances already make it hard enough for children to stay connected to their families.

When someone fosters locally, they’re offering more than a bed. They’re keeping a child’s world intact while the harder work of reunification happens.

The biggest thing holding most people back is the belief that they aren’t qualified. Christa Little wants to dismantle the idea that foster parents need to be experts or have perfect lives.

“We’re looking for people who are open, flexible, and willing to work alongside a child’s family as part of the process,” she says. Single parents, large families, empty nesters — the agency prioritizes warmth over credentials. Foster families reflect the full diversity of the communities they serve, and KRRCFS actively welcomes parents of all backgrounds.

No one goes in it alone either. Every foster family is matched with a dedicated support worker, and programs like Stay Home for School provide financial assistance so that stability — not money — is what drives the decision.

Fostering is often misunderstood as a permanent replacement for a child’s family. It isn’t. “Our goal is to get children home,” Christa says. Foster parents share routines and build trust so that when the time comes, the transition back feels like a continuation rather than a disruption.

One foster parent puts their philosophy simply: there is always room for one more at our table.

And that’s it. That’s the whole thing. A seat, a meal, a hairbrush, a safe place to land. Until a child can find their way back to their own.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you could make a difference, the answer is yes. Contact KRRCFS at 1-800-465-1100 or visit krrcfs.ca/foster-care today to learn more about becoming a foster parent in your community.