Walk highlights need for foster families

Chris Barnett faced abuse and emotional mistreatment growing up. He credits the four years he spent in foster care with shaping him into the person he is today.

Now the Dubuque resident is walking across Iowa with the goal of helping other children find the same loving care he did as a teenager.

'I don't know where I'd be today without a couple of sets of foster parents,” he said.

He's walking to raise awareness, because in his job supporting foster families for Iowa KidsNet at Four Oaks, he sees the reality every day - there are not enough families to meet the need.

'We have a large number of kids who need temporary homes. We're short of homes and have trouble placing kids in their home communities,” he said. 'I get calls about kids and have to say, ‘No, we don't have a home for them.' ”

With the hope of recruiting more families to be foster parents, Barnett, 49, left from Dubuque on Saturday for a 28-day walking trip along a 770-mile route.

'My goal is to get the word out. There are a lot of kids out there that need a safe place,” he said. 'We need homes to keep kids in their communities, we need homes for sibling groups, we need teen homes and we need homes for minority children.”

He'll stop in towns along the way to talk about foster care. Wearing a bright green shirt advertising his mission, he also hopes passers-by along the way will chat with him about foster care and why he's walking.

'The whole purpose is to be noticed, so other than the interstate, we'll be on the main roads,” he said. 'I'll be coming up to Cedar Rapids on North Dubuque Street from Iowa City.”

He plans to walk rain or shine. If all goes as planned and he is able to keep to his anticipated 28 miles-a-day average, he should be on the road between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids on Wednesday. He'll turn west toward Fairfax and stop for a recruiting and reception event from 5 to 8 p.m. at Fairfax City Park, 700 Linn St., Fairfax. Other stops on his route can be found on the website 2giveback.com, which he and his wife, Jane Barnett, set up.

They want this walk to be just the first of many projects to give back to their community. They're already planning an initiative to take foster children around Iowa on fishing trips next year.

'My 50th birthday is coming up, and I kind of wanted to do something big and crazy,” Chris Barnett said. 'We did foster care for nine years and served about 30 kids. I have a passion for it.”

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