Not a Throwaway: Recent Episodes
Joy Roberts
Not a Throwaway is a podcast for foster families - aiming to encourage and empower them to build a home where hope and love prevail. This podcast is hosted by Joy Roberts, who experienced a childhood in foster care herself before being adopted at 13 years old. With her knowledge about the foster care system and passion for helping children and parents navigate the experience, her goal is to bring new perspectives into frame, provide hope when things might seem hopeless, and share the incredible stories of others who have traveled the same path.
In the second part of this three-part series, Joy talks about how building trust with your foster/adopted child should be priority before addressing their mental health issues. The traumatized brain is tender and delicate, and remembering to listen before you speak is incredibly vital to the healing process.
This is the first part of a three-part series on mental health. In this episode, Joy talks about how you can’t just fix mental health, but how it’s a process and a journey. With patience and dedication, you can help your foster or adopted child work through the trauma and mental health challenges they are […]
Hear from a couple who has fostered many siblings and has walked through the struggle of having to make a call to split up siblings. Joy discusses with Melinda and Eric the value in keeping siblings together as well as, sometimes, the need to split up siblings. They also discuss some helpful, practical ways they […]
In this episode, Joy speaks with Carrie Davis about her and her husbands current adoption journey. What has seemed to be a never-ending whirlwind of legal processes, paperwork, lots of “no’s” and a few “yes’s”, they’ve finally been matched with a child they expect to adopt in May. God’s timing does not always align with […]
In this episode, Joy catches up with Elizabeth Shelt – the CASA worker that was appointed to Joy when she was in the system as a little girl. CASA stands for Court-Appointed Special Advocate. This is a volunteer program where you have the opportunity to be a voice for foster children. And as you’ll hear […]
In this episode, Joy talks about the challenges and struggles that foster teens deal with when it comes to education and schooling.
Joy shares her personal story with mental health diagnoses and IEPs during her foster care journey back in April of 2000. Maybe you or your child has been dealt the same cards. The most important thing to remember is that doctors, educators, and diagnoses are only a chapter of your book – but YOU are […]
In this episode, Joy tells the story about how she found her birth father when she was 28 years old. She discusses the emotions that come along with meeting a parent that has been missing from your life for many years, and how to navigate through those emotions.
In this episode, Joy discusses how to navigate birth family visitations with foster/adopted children. It can often be a tricky road to navigate, but a necessary one. And supporting your child through the process is important before, during, and even after the visitation happens.
In this episode, Joy defines adverse trauma and discusses helpful ways to broaden your perspective on what it is. She also talks about how we can advocate for children who are struggling to overcome trauma in their own lives by sharing research based tips, as well as her own personal experience.
Joy sits down with her nephew Josh to talk about his journey through adoption and how his adoptive family encouraged him to find and reconnect with his birth family, none of whom he had ever seen or met since he was born.
Joy shares some helpful tools to implement when it comes to building the bridge of trust with your foster/adopted child.
What does it look like when foster parents give the gift of persistent patience to that teen being fostered or adopted? Imagine the walls that could start to come down! Bob and Sami Hoeller join the podcast to talk about the dynamics of adopting a teenager… The obstacles they had to overcome, the breakthroughs they […]
Joy has a conversation with Molly – a foster mom in Arizona – about her experience with foster care. The heartbreaks that come with having to say goodbye are one of the hardest things about foster care, but Molly tells us why it serves a much bigger purpose: it builds strength in yourself and resilience […]
In this episode, Joy talks about some of the most difficult decisions that adoptive and foster parents have to make on their journey. When she was in foster care growing up, her foster parents had to make a difficult decision themselves… Which led to her not being adopted by them. Decisions like this can often […]
Sarah MacDonald is a wife, adoptive mom, blogger and executive pastor. She joins Joy for this episode to talk about her experience with her adopted child’s birth mom, and why it was so important in her case not to leave her out – but to build her up. Visit Sarah MacDonald’s blog at www.organize2prioritize.com!
Joy recounts her relationship with her birth mother while she was in foster care. She also discusses the impact that her foster mom and adoptive mom had on her when bringing up the topic of her biological mother. In this episode you’ll learn some important things to remember when addressing that relationship with your foster […]
Welcome to “Not a Throwaway!” Meet Joy Roberts, the host of this podcast and a passionate advocate for foster families. We hope you are blessed by the things you hear and the stories that are told along this journey. And be sure to subscribe so you’ll be notified when new episodes release!