Life
Dad Adopts Children And Helps Make A Difference In Broken System
After experiencing homelessness and foster care, this dad is out to fix a broken system with his own adopted children.
Heidi Kennedy
08.19.19

It is hard to imagine the kind of abuse that Rob Scheer endured as a child. The youngest of 10 siblings, his early memories are ones that are hard to hear. Physical and sexual abuse were daily struggles. He remembers his parents laughing while holding a gun to his head asking which child they should shoot first.

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When his parents both died when he was 10 years old, he thought life was going to get a little easier.

“To me, it was the greatest gift I thought I could ever have.” recalls Rob after his parents died.

But being in foster care is not all sunshine and rainbows. The mental abuse he describes then haunted his thoughts. All of his belongings he held in a trash bag. The feeling of shame going into a home where you knew you were not loved or wanted was hard.

At 18 years old and a senior in high school, Rob was left homeless.

His life up until this point had been hard, painful, and filled with trials. But even then, he knew that something in his life was going to be different.

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At that point, hungry, cold and scared, Rob decided to join the military. When he got out, he got a job in an office and met Reece. They got married and were enjoying life together.

Comfort Cases Website
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Comfort Cases Website

After getting married, they decided they wanted to adopt a child.

Initially, they were planning to adopt a child from overseas. But Reece questioned why they would do this when they were children locally who needed a loving home.

“You don’t realize how many kids you are doing a disservice to by not telling your story.” Reece told Rob.

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So they decided, any child under the age of five they would welcome into their home. They put in the application and waited.

That’s when they got the call about a brother and sister who were “troubled”.

They were warned that the boy was “a biter” and were told they had better be sure they wanted them before agreeing. Of course, they wanted them. These children needed them. Brother, Makai, and sister, Amaya, were welcomed into their home. A few months went by then Greyson and Tristan joined the family.

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These children needed to feel safe, loved, and wanted and it meant the world for Rob to feel wanted as well. Those old hurts and wounds were slowly being healed by the love of these kids.

But Rob was dismayed when all four children arrived with their belongings in trash bags.

He was shocked. Those children feeling the same guilt and shame of not having anything but a garbage bag to carry their few possessions. It was just like what he went through as a child, carrying that black trash bag.

“What are we not doing to change this?” he asks of the broken system.

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Typically children in foster care do not have many things to call their own. Maybe a few changes of clothes and one or two other personal items. For years, this has been the normal procedure: children in foster care carry their items in a trash bag.

But Rob, with new determination, has a goal: no child in foster care should be given a trash bag to carry their things.

They decided to do something about it. So in 2013, they started Comfort Cases, an organization that donates backpacks and duffle bags to foster children. They have since served over 85,000 children to date.

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In a society and a world where children are sadly neglected and forgotten, Rob and his family are out to make a difference. Donated bags are filled with items such as pajamas, toiletries, books, and toys to help provide a child a small sense of comfort when transitioning to a new home.

Comfort Cases Website
Source:
Comfort Cases Website

Check out Rob’s story below!

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