Susan Beyer has always known that it takes a village to raise a child. The single mom has doubled as a Chicago O’Hare (ORD)-based Flight Attendant at American Airlines for the last three decades, a job that often requires time away from home.What she didn’t know is what it would take when her heart compelled her to do more — to also raise the village.
Susan works with organizations commissioned by the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to provide a safe and loving environment for children who need emergency placement. She’s made it her mission to shine a light — her light — on the darkness of child abuse, addiction and neglect.
“The cycle ends with me,” Susan said. “If I have one more seat at the table, I can do something. I can figure it out.”
More than just figure it out, she’s created unbreakable bonds and provided a safe home to more than a dozen foster kids in the last decade. Those children are in addition to her daughter, three step children and a little girl who arrived at her home in the middle of a cold January night in 2016.
When DCFS knocked on Susan’s door with nearly two-year-old Olivia, she and the toddler bonded right away. The next day, she began preparing a nursery, arranging for child care and scheduling doctors’ appointments. “From the moment we met, I just loved her,” Susan said. “I wanted her to walk. I wanted her to be the best version of herself.”
The next couple of years were filled with joyous milestones like Olivia’s first steps. They were also filled with court dates and supervised visits with Olivia’s birth parents. But after two years, Olivia’s birth mother surrendered her parental rights. Susan officially adopted Olivia in August 2018.
- Fostering love on Mother’s Day - American Airlines Group, Inc.
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