For the past 12 years, Guy Bryant has fostered more than 50 young men in Brooklyn.
What We Know:
- Bryant (61) decided to become a foster parent in 2007. He had worked at a group home in Brooklyn for 10 years and unfortunately, the city began breaking up this and many other homes. One of the young men he worked with asked him to take him in and that is where it all began. He took in that young man and two other boys as well.
- He eventually outgrew his East Flatbush apartment, fostering as many as six boys at a time. Bryant had to rent out the floor above his apartment to give him more space for his “children”. Currently, Bryant is fostering two 21-year-olds and a 23-year-old.
- Bryant made it his goal to help guide these young men to a better future. He believes that to successfully raise a child there needs to be trust, spending time doing activities and talking with them, and enforcing the idea that they are loved and cared for. He refers to his method as the “Mr. Bryant approach.”
- “Once you come into my home and you’ve been with me and you’ve been here, you’re my kid for life…you’ll always be able to come home. This is home,” Bryant said.
- He has worked as a Youth Advocate Coordinator for New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services for over 30 years. He also worked with the supervisor to 21 programs where he mentored young adults between the ages of 18 and 21. Bryant currently works with Rising Ground, a New York agency that helps young men plan their future and ensure that they follow through with their plans.
- Unfortunately, many kids “age out” of the foster system when they turn 18. According to The Epoch Times, around 20 percent of children in the United States foster system become instantly homeless after turning 18 and only 50 percent will find employment by the age of 24. In addition to this, 60 percent of the young men that age out are convicted of a crime.
Even though Bryant had plans to retire at 60, he is continuing to foster young men who need his love and care.
