“I was stunned and mad to learn that we have more foster kids in Los Angeles than anywhere else in the country,” Christian Bale, the beloved Batman actor, shared. This drove him to want to keep brothers and sisters in foster care together, and he plans to build a ’village’ to make it happen. He also talked about what made him decide to take on such a big project.
Bale recently showed off plans for a new ’village’ in California.
Christian Bale, known for his roles in movies like American Psycho and the Batmanseries, has been working on an idea since his daughter was born in 2005. Now, he’s taking action.
His vision includes building 12 foster homes, two studio flats for kids transitioning to independent living, and a 7,000 square foot community center. Bale wants to keep siblings in foster care together, ideally living under the same roof. So, he’s leading the charge to create a special complex that will make this possible.
It’s set to be the first of its kind in the state.
Construction is currently ongoing on the project, which is estimated to cost $22 million and is expected to be completed by 2025. The village will be located next to a park in Palmdale, a city situated 60 miles north of Los Angeles.
Christian Bale, aged 50, who co-founded Together California, the organization driving the development, described the village as “something absolutely new, totally transformative, and something completely needed.”
He expressed a deep desire to change the sad reality by launching the village project.
Christian Bale spoke passionately about the heartbreaking experience of children losing their families and being separated from their siblings. He hoped this initiative would raise awareness in the community about the challenges these children face and encouraged people in California and Los Angeles to come together to support them.
“Imagine the absolute pain and the trauma of losing your parents or being torn from your parents, and then losing your brothers and sisters on top of that,” he explains.
Bale added that growing up their home was always open to those in need, “We were always having other people coming and living in our house who didn’t have homes, etc. That’s just the guy that he was.”
The actor revealed that his drive to help children in need was ignited after the birth of his daughter, Emmeline, in 2005. Bale admitted that he found himself deeply pondering what life would be like for his daughter if he wasn’t around.
Bale shared that he was “mad” to find out that Los Angeles has the highest number of foster children in the country. He admitted feeling frustrated with himself for not knowing about this earlier, prompting him to decide to focus on addressing the issue. He and his wife resolved to do everything they could to make a difference.
Christian Bale’s kindness towards those who need help is really amazing. Whether he’s standing up for foster children in Los Angeles or doing other good deeds, Bale’s commitment to making the world better shows us the power of caring. Before you go, why not read another touching story? It’s about a woman who adopted her husband’s ex-wife’s baby so he wouldn’t have to grow up in foster care like she did.
‘Families don’t have to look the same’ – Black couple talks about their experience adopting three white children
Sadie and Jarvis Sampson tried for years to have a baby, using every method they could think of. They eventually accepted that they might only ever be an aunt and uncle. Then, one day, they got a text that changed their lives completely.
The couple had been trying to get pregnant since they got married in January 2018, but when it didn’t happen on its own, they tried everything else.
“We used ovulation tests, took prenatal vitamins, tracked cycles with apps, and used fertility monitors,” the Houston mom told Love What Matters.
“We even tried advice from friends, family, and strangers. For 14 months, we tried, prayed, and waited. Month after month, it was always a negative pregnancy test. It seemed like we might need help to conceive, so we even talked to doctors about it.”
Doctors didn’t offer much help to the couple. They mostly told Sadie to lose weight to improve her chances of getting pregnant. With no other advice, she had gastric surgery and lost 28 pounds.
Sadie’s OBGYN was excited about the weight loss and praised her for it.
“She told me that if I wasn’t pregnant within six months, she would refer me to a fertility specialist because she couldn’t prescribe fertility medication herself,” Sadie said. “I was thrilled! We finally got a positive step forward, even if it wasn’t immediate. We were excited about the progress.”
Unfortunately, the couple didn’t get pregnant after Sadie lost the weight, and they felt like they were back where they started.
“I always felt like I was meant to be a mother,” Sadie said. “Even though my surgeon warned me that I’d be very fertile after the surgery, I still wasn’t getting pregnant. So, we gave up and accepted that we might just be aunt and uncle to our nieces and godparents to our goddaughters.”
Just when the couple had decided to stop trying to have a baby, Sadie got a text from a friend asking if they would think about fostering a baby from a couple she knew.
At first, the couple was hesitant because they were told by a caseworker to take care of the baby while the birth mom was getting treatment. They worried they might get too attached. But then, the situation changed.
“The birth mom has decided she wants you to adopt the baby instead,” the caseworker said.
Sadie remembered saying, “‘Holy crap!!’ out loud when she found out she was going to be a mom.
“We went from having no kids to possibly fostering one, to suddenly being told, ‘You’re going to be parents!’ I was still in shock as I listened to the caseworker. I hung up and called my husband, shouting, ‘Babe!! They want us to adopt the baby! We’re going to be parents!’ He said, ‘Wait! REALLY?! I thought they just wanted us to foster him!’ I told him, ‘Nope! They want us to be his mom and dad.’”
The couple spent the weekend trying to take in the shocking news and getting ready, just in case the birth mom changed her mind.
By Monday, they were not only told that the birth mom still wanted them to adopt the baby, but she also wanted to do an independent adoption and was ready to sign the papers that day.
Their baby boy was born at just 33 weeks, which is seven weeks early. He weighed 4 lbs. 5 oz. “He was so tiny, he literally fit in one of my husband’s hands,” Sadie wrote.
“He was wrapped in a white blanket with pink and blue stripes,” Sadie said. “He had a small tube coming out of his nose because he couldn’t eat on his own since he was born early. But he was so cute!!!”
The couple shared their news on social media and were encouraged to create a registry. They listed 72 items, and within just three days, 55 of them were already bought for them.
Ezra Lee’s adoption was finalized in October 2020, and the couple had adorable family photos taken, all wearing t-shirts that said, “Families don’t have to match.”
In 2021, Sadie and Jarvis became parents to twin girls, Journee and Destinee, through embryo donation. True to their family motto, “Families don’t have to match,” the Black couple now has three white children – a boy and two girls.
For anyone who might judge their beautiful family, they have just one response: their family is built on the strongest foundation ever – love.
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