Newly created family gives second start to two sisters in Colorado

Raise the Future helped 313 young people move out of foster care and into loving homes last year. The organization specializes in finding caring adults for older youth and sibling groups, who often linger in the system the longest. When the right connection is made it's like magic.

For 17-year-old Renesmee and her younger sister, Rosy, that magic was made with their new parents Britt and Eli.

"They're very supportive and caring," Renesmee said of her new parents.

"It feels like they're always going to be on my side…when I'm frustrated and sad," Rosy added.

Rosy and Renesmee haven't always had adults on their side. They went into foster care when Renesmee was 12 and Rosy was a tender 5-years-old. During their years in foster care, Rosy said that she felt scared, and Renesmee said she felt isolated. All they had was each other.

"It was very disappointing knowing that a lot of people didn't want me when I was a teenager," Renesmee explained.

Her being a teen, and the two wanting to be adopted together were two strikes against them.

"I think that there had been a moment where my eldest had expressed a sentiment that maybe she should reconsider adoption to maybe give her sister a better chance," Eli recounted.

"Because I felt like I was holding her back from getting adopted," Renesmee explained.

"I do remember thinking that's a really impressive level of empathy," Eli added.

It was that empathy that drew the couple to the sisters. Britt found the girls on the Raise the Future website.

"I saw their pictures, and they just seemed really sweet," she recounted.

Once Britt and Eli made the decision to do foster-to-adopt, they said they got caught up in the process and things seemed to move quickly. They first went through the process of becoming a certified foster family and all the trainings that requires. At the same time they were meeting Renesmee and Rosy and starting to build a rapport with them. Soon the girls were moving into their home.

"Most parents meet their kids when they're new borns, and you're literally getting to know your kids. They move in and they're like, 'Who are you?' We have to get to know each other," Britt explained.

"Your kids have been through a lot because of the nature of how they get into the system is one where there aren't a lot of happy stories," Eli said of the trauma background that his children as well as other children in foster care have. "You're not really taken by surprise, it's just that it manifests in a lot of very interesting ways."

The couple was new to parenting, and the family required some time to adjust.

"Sometimes it is like, 'Wow, I have a 17-year-old now.' You know, that's a thing in and of itself. And some days it's like my 17-year-old never learned this or that, or doesn't know how to regulate on this, or is amazing at regulating on this, but then this seemed to throw her for a loop," Eli explained.

Eli and Britt reached out to a wide variety of resources to get help, including learning some parenting tools through Raise the Future's Trust Based Relational Intervention training.

"It's a slow process, but you see your moments. You have your moments where they're like today was a good day," Eli said.

"It was a long process, but now I feel like I can say things like, 'My kids wouldn't do that.' Or 'My kids would do that.'" Britt said.

Britt, Eli, Renesmee and Rosy made it official in March of 2024. In an Adams County courtroom, a judge declared them a new family – a precious second start for sisters who definitely needed it.

"I'm very happy! I love my Mom and my Dad," Renesmee told CBS News Colorado.

You can support families like this and the important work being doing by Raise the Future by making a donation during CBS News Colorado's A Day for Wednesday's Child. This is the day we celebrate families created through adoption out of foster care. We raise money and awareness for Raise the Future.

CBS Colorado is celebrating families created from adoption on A DAY FOR WEDNESDAY'S CHILD. Find out how you can help Raise the Future this week.