FROM PAGEONE
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2021
Dream Team:
Foster:
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several outfi elders also toss
a few extra softballs back
and forth while they wait
their turn to bat.
No matter what happens,
players, coaches and par-
ents in the stand erupt into
cheers.
Smalley, whose daugh-
ter plays on the Dream
Team, said she appreciates
the opportunity to create
something that works for
people of varying ages and
abilities.
“It’s nice to do some-
thing that’s activity based,
that doesn’t rely on verbal
skills,” she said.
Smalley also said she
often hears from parents
of the “neurotypical” Little
League athletes that it was
their child’s favorite game
of the season.
Bleyenberg said Little
League has always been
great about getting them
whatever equipment they
need. When she fi rst got
involved in the program,
started about a decade
ago by John Guillen, she
assumed it was a standard
part of Little League. But
she has since learned that
most kids don’t get that
opportunity.
Lexi Sinor and Avery
Devin, both 11, were
two of the Marlins help-
ing Dream Team athletes
fi eld balls and run bases
on May 4. Avery said she
liked helping out with the
game and was glad she did
it, while Lexi said it was
her fi rst time playing in
the game, but she had a lot
of fun helping other peo-
ple get to play softball like
she does.
“I like helping kids that
don’t always have the same
advantages,” she said.
After the two-inning
game is over and each
Dream Team player has
gotten to bat twice, players
do some cheers before lin-
ing up for a squirt of hand
an emergency placement for
a teen who had been living
with some friends of hers
who were moving out of
state.
It hasn’t always been easy
— there have been a few
brushes with law enforce-
ment — but Wilson said she
and her husband love their
kids and are glad to have
them.
“Our daughter did the
same kind of stuff to us, so
sometimes I have to remem-
ber, ‘You’re talking back to
us because you’re a teen-
ager, not because you’re in
foster care,’ ” she said.
She, Osuna and Davis all
said they really enjoy the
friendships they’ve made
with other parents who are
also doing foster care. There
is a huge need for resource
parents in the area, Wilson
said, so she said if anyone is
interested in giving it a try,
it’s worth pursuing, even
though it is an arduous pro-
cess to get certifi ed.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
The Dream Team’s Cole Cemore runs between second and third during a game at Hermiston’s
Field of Dreams on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.
How to become a resource
parent
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Above, the Dream Team’s Rian Middleton hits the ball during a game on Tuesday, May 4,
2021. Below, Adolfo Zuniga throws a softball back toward the infi eld.
sanitizer and a snack.
Rian
Middleton
grabbed a treat bag and
juice box before giving
other players his signa-
ture high fi ves. He said
his favorite part is getting
to hit the ball. It’s also the
hardest part, he said.
The fi nal game of the
season is May 25, and
Smalley said it will end
with a pizza party.
Tonya Wilson/Contributed Photo
Tonya Wilson and her
husband, Gene, have been
resource parents for about a
year.
Bianca Osuna/Contributed Photo
May is National Foster
Care Month, and Marvin
Hamilton, who does recruit-
ment for resource parents
for DHS in Umatilla and
Morrow counties, said he is
grateful for all of the peo-
ple who are willing to take
a child or teenager into their
home when living with their
biological parents isn’t an
option for the time being.
“They work hard to part-
ner with families to off set the
tremendous grief and loss
children and young adults
experiencing foster care
may have,” he said. “They
are partners in achieving
the best possible outcomes
for families while provid-
ing for the safety, health and
well-being of the children
and young people they’re
committed to caring for in
their home.”
He said there is a great
Bianca Osuna has been
providing foster care for
three years.
need for more resource fam-
ilies in the area, and they are
especially short on Span-
ish-speaking homes. He said
currently Umatilla and Mor-
row counties have a total of
183 children in care and 131
resource families.
Resource parents can
be single, married or liv-
ing together, with biological
children or without. They
must be at least 21 years old,
be able to adequately sup-
port their family fi nancially,
have adequate room for chil-
dren in their home or apart-
ment, be able to physically
care for a child’s needs and
pass a background check.
For more information,
contact Hamilton at 541-
564-4484 or Marvin.HAM-
ILTON@dhsoha.state.or.us.
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