Lost & Found: Lost in a System, Found by the Church

Purpose:

To raise awareness about the critical conditions faced by vulnerable populations, including those in foster care, homelessness, trafficking, incarceration, and other crises.
To highlight the impactful work being done by faith-based organizations in these areas, showcasing their dedication and successes.
To inspire and mobilize the body of Christ toward meaningful action, facilitating connections with existing teams and ministries already on the frontlines of this work.

Contributors

Host

Paula Cracium

Paula has always had a heart for the community and has won the distinctions of Woman of the Year in California 3 times, and once in the City of Los Angeles, for her efforts in the community.

She works advocating for foster youth to increase the focus and resources at the federal, state and county levels, and to ignite “the Church” to action for the people we are called to serve.

Serving Co-Chair of the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services Faith Collaborative (DCFS,) she works closely to connect and resource faith organization in their efforts to impact the lives of children connected to DCFS. Recently, she partnered to create the Open Your Doors Initiatives, engaging the entertainment industry in efforts that would benefit foster children.

Paula feels honored and humbled to be a part of what God is doing at Shepherd Church. “God is moving here,” she says. “All we have to do is keep following His lead."

http://lostandfound.show

Guests

Guest

Annamarie Dachtler

Guest appearance on:

S1 Ep13 | Kids Aging Out of the System

Guest

Jennifer Hastings

https://fosterall.org

Guest appearance on:

S1 Ep11 | I Want To Be A Foster Parent - Where Do I Start?

Guest

Lesley Hoff

lesley@wefoster.la

https://wefosterla.org

Guest appearance on:

Guest

Pastor Dan Broyles

Dan Broyles is a care pastor at Valencia Hills Community Church and has been working at churches since 2002. Previously, he was a social worker for the County of Los Angeles, where he helped children who were abused and neglected. Mr. Broyles has a M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from California State University at Northridge. In 2019 he was the recipient of the “Kathryn Barger Commitment to Service Award’ (Los Angeles County) and in 2021 he was the recipient of the “Citizen of the Year” for the state of California by the National Association of Social Workers.” For six years he has been the chairman of a local task force in regard to human/sex trafficking. He is author of the book Helping Teens at Risk of Suicide and also has a podcast called “Stories of Hope.” During the past 18 months, he helped co-start a new non-profit called “Saga” that helps others with mental health needs. pastordan@valenciahills.com

https://valenciahills.com/pastorsandstaff/

Guest

Stacey DeWitt

Stacy DeWitt is Executive Director of James Storehouse. During a year of weekly prayer and fasting, Stacy asked the Lord to show her the needs of the most vulnerable and brokenhearted in her community. She wanted to do something about it. Her heart was moved with compassion as He directed her steps towards foster care and to the plight of abused and neglected babies, children, and aged-out youth.

In spring of 2014, Stacy, along with her husband Pastor Kirk DeWitt of Conejo Church and their congregation, raised $100,000 to launch the James Storehouse warehouse, boutique, and offices in Newbury Park. James Storehouse is contracted with the Department of Child and Family Services, and Stacy works daily with an outstanding volunteer team to meet emergency needs to help expedite cases and ease transitions for children and families.