For this week’s Mosaic Monday, we are featuring Kristen Deforge, a Spurwink therapeutic foster parent. Spurwink’s Mosaic includes a number of programs that provide a continuum of care across the lifespan for community members facing behavioral health challenges. Therapeutic Foster Care providers, like Kristen, bring care and opportunity to children and youth in a way that creates positive change for all; a pattern that carries throughout the mosaic. Kristen has been a therapeutic foster care parent for over 17 years, starting in her mid-20s when she saw through her work in Vermont as a domestic violence court advocate how many teenagers needed a foster home. Since moving to Maine, she has fostered 15+ teens and has adopted two teenage girls. Kristen loves the ocean, and you can find her outside most weekends enjoying water parks, the beach or camping. When asked what she’d like to share, Kristen shared this perspective: “Lots of foster parents want to foster little kids and I understand the reasons for that, but I wish more people would take a chance and foster a teen. They are so incredibly resilient. They need love and nurturing just like the little kids. I promise you will be amazed by their kindness, determination, and their strength.” From young children to older adults, every piece of the mosaic of Spurwink is strengthened by individuals like Kristen. Thank you, Kristen, for going the distance for those who need it most.