South County Angels’ Arms foster parents Barb Bocklage and Lawreene & Will Hall were honored this February as the Southwest Area Chamber of Commerce’s Citizens of the Year! 

“Barb has been a foster mom for 29 years and came to Angels’ Arms in 2012. Lawreene and Will began fostering in 2013, and joined the Angels’ Arms Family in 2020. In their combined 40 years of fostering, these parents have gone above and beyond for every child who was placed in their care.

When you meet them, you begin to understand that these are very special people. People who love and care for children, and are willing to sacrifice more than you can imagine to give them the life they deserve.

This labor of love requires parenting, mentoring, being a counselor and a constant shoulder to lean on. Barb, Lawreene and Will open their homes to youth in need, providing them with a place to belong in our community. Their mission is not only to provide a nurturing, loving home for foster youth, but to give them a normal family experience, while preparing the older youth for independence.

It’s one thing to parent our biological or adopted children, it’s quite another thing to be a parent to children who have never been shown a reason to trust adults. Building that trust requires broad shoulders and strong, loving hearts. They take in youngsters who often don’t understand why they have been ripped away from the lives they knew, and put into foster care with people who are strangers. And instead of remaining strangers, these three quickly show the kids what love really is, giving them another chance.

Barb, Lawreene and Will make a difference in countless lives that might otherwise have been forgotten or neglected. And we all benefit, because when youngsters leave their care, often as young adults, they now have an opportunity to make the entire world a better place — all because of what they learned from these incredible parents.”  — Mary Meyer, Board Secretary of the Angels’ Arms Board of Directors