Corrie's Story

Corrie seemed like a typical “street kid” when police dropped her off at KidsFirst one cold November night. “She was a wreck,” Berg remembers. “Dirty, scared, and hungry. She couldn’t stop crying. We learned she’d run away from a shelter in Iowa she said was like a jail. It’s no wonder she was so scared.”

Corrie soon realized things would be different at KidsFirst. She had her own cheerful room, some new clothes, and a tutor to help her in school. She pitched in to prepare a big Thanksgiving dinner and then decorated the house for Christmas. The staff took her ice skating and to see Cinderella at the Civic Theater. She asked to start going to church with one of her counselors.

“She really changed in just a few weeks. She started helping me plan for her return to Iowa,” Berg says. “She was ready to work on her problems at a residential treatment program there.”

In late January, Corrie returned to Iowa. The next month, Berg received a letter. She wrote, “I miss all you very much! The original plan was for me to go to residential for six to nine months then to a foster home. But now, state training school is on the list. I’ve been praying so much, but it’s hard to stay happy. Life in this shelter is nowhere near as nice and comfortable. You gave me hope when I thought I couldn’t go on. You have no idea how much you helped me. Always, Corrie.”

Dan wrote back, but a few days later his letter came back marked, “addressee unknown.” “I have no idea what has happened to Corrie or why,” Dan says. “Like a lot of kids right here in Michigan, the last thing she needs is to be locked up. She needs a family.”

If there’s one thing that can undermine Berg’s natural good humor, it’s the shortage of foster homes. “If I could change one thing about my work, there would be a lot more foster homes. We have great kids who just need somebody to care for them.”