Loves Grows and Connects Here: The Robinson Family
Home > Loves Grows and Connects Here: The Robinson Family
The Robinson Family
For Larado and Tamara Robinson, foster care starts with one goal: as Larado puts it, “These kids need a stable home. One that is secure and loving. That is what we do our best to provide every day.” Tamara advocates relentlessly for the children in their care, especially in the school system. The family places real value on giving kids structure and routine, so they know what to expect from one day to the next. They have seen too many siblings split up in the foster system, and it has been heartbreaking to witness, so doing their part to keep brothers and sisters under one roof is something they hold close to their hearts.
The Robinson family runs on a simple mission statement: “We love Jesus. We love people. We stay calm, act with courage and integrity, and stand in the gap for one another.” That statement guides how they parent every single day, whether they are working through a hard morning or celebrating a small win.
They are also a family of balance. Tamara is the planner, the one who makes sure these kids lack nothing, right down to a chore chart that has turned their 9-year-old’s responsibilities into a point system he actually gets excited about. Larado will tell you that Tamara is amazing and that he wouldn’t want to take this journey with anyone else. Larado is, in Tamara’s words, “her calm.” Between the two of them, they try to give these kids both structure and steadiness.
Larado will tell you he almost said no to this whole journey. Back in 2017, after raising three girls, he was not sure he wanted to start the parenting journey over again with fostering. He told Tamara he would pray about it, and in 2023, he says God made it unmistakably clear: he needed to get out of the way, because Tamara was made for this. So he did, and the Robinsons started fostering in May of 2024. When telling the story, Larado jokes that maybe it was a mistake to pray about it, but he now sees it was certainly the right thing to do.
He also thought that after a year he would be running on empty, knowing how exhausting kids can be. Instead, he says God has given him a second wind, a genuine, joyful season with these kids that he did not expect. His unofficial family motto these days: “I will rest when I get to heaven.”
Right now, the Robinson home includes five children: a 9-year-old, 2- and 1-year-old boys, and twin 3-month-old girls. Yes, they will tell you that it is exhausting. But ask either of them, and the answer comes back the same with a smile: “It is all worth it.”
Outside of foster care, Larado serves as the Director of Salem Water and Sewer and also runs his own leadership development business, Global Purposes, which helps people “transform purpose into excellence.” Tamara stepped away from her own career to be home full-time once their family needed her most.
HopeTree Family Services Receives Grant to Help Children Transition into Foster Homes in the Richmond Region
Home > HopeTree Family Services Receives Grant to Help Children Transition into Foster Homes in the Richmond Region
Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation’s $2,500 investment will provide clothing, meals, and essential resources to foster families
RICHMOND, VA (July 27, 2026) – HopeTree Family Services has received a $2,500 grant from Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation to help ease transitions for foster families in the Richmond region. The grant will provide clothing, hygiene items, small toys, and meals to children in foster care, while also assisting foster parents with essential expenses related to safety equipment, transportation, and school activity fees.
For many children in foster care, the transition can happen quickly and often comes during one of the most uncertain moments of their lives. Many arrive with few or no personal belongings and must adjust to a new environment, new routines, and new caregivers. By providing immediate necessities and ongoing support, HopeTree aims to help children feel safe, comfortable, and supported as they adjust.
“Our foster parents do the hard, everyday work of helping children heal,” said April Estrada, Director of Foster Care at HopeTree Family Services. “This grant allows us to come alongside them in practical ways; whether that’s clothing for a child arriving with nothing, help with transportation, or opportunities for kids to participate in activities that help them feel like kids. By reducing some of the financial and logistical burdens, we can help foster families focus on what they do best: providing stability, connection, and healing.”
The grant will also allow HopeTree to provide meals and care packages to foster families when a child is placed in their home unexpectedly. This additional support will help caregivers focus on caring for the child during those first critical hours. The enhanced support will increase foster parent engagement, reduce placement disruptions, and build greater confidence in trauma-informed caregiving.
With more than 6,000 children in foster care in Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Social Services, supporting foster families is essential to creating stability for children. Dominion Energy’s investment will help HopeTree continue strengthening foster placements and ensuring children in the Richmond area have access to safe, supportive homes.
About HopeTree Family Services
HopeTree Family Services empowers children and families through a variety of services designed to build hope, resilience, and strong futures. Through its Treatment Foster Care program, HopeTree partners with foster families to provide safe, supportive, and nurturing homes for children with specialized needs. Visit www.hopetreefs.org for more information.
June 14, 2024, was a day Destiny F. will never forget. She was preparing to celebrate her youngest child’s second birthday when, instead, it became the day her children were removed from their home.
Overwhelmed by depression, grief, and the fear of losing everything she loved, Destiny struggled to see a way forward. Three months later, a referral to HopeTree Family Services’ Family Support program became the beginning of her journey toward healing, hope, and reunification with her children.
When Destiny entered the program, she was experiencing one of the darkest seasons of her life. Her four children were living in kinship and foster care. She was homeless, living in her car, carrying more than $4,000 in debt, and deeply distrustful of therapy and parenting programs.
“I was in a dead space at that time in my life,” Destiny said. A year before her children were removed, Child Protective Services became involved with the family. As the pressure mounted, Destiny’s mental health continued to decline.
“My brain had already snapped, and I didn’t realize it,” she said. “It was too late, and I didn’t care to go to therapy back then.”
After losing custody, Destiny questioned whether she was capable of raising her children.
“I did not think I could go through that actual losing feeling again, especially when I didn’t feel like I was a bad mom,” she said.
Despite her fear, she accepted a referral to HopeTree’s Family Support program, which was a decision that would change her life.
Meeting Her Where She Was
HopeTree’s Family Support program partners with families involved in, or at risk of entering, the child welfare system. Through parent coaching, therapeutic visitation, supervised visitation, and individualized support, families receive practical tools and encouragement to build safe, healthy homes while working toward goals such as reunification.
Abigail “Abby” Schreiner, Family Support Supervisor, helped launch the program after recognizing that many birth parents lacked the support they needed to succeed.
“Many times, the parents of the kids who are in foster care are people who might not have had their needs met when they were children,” Abby said. “They might have experienced trauma, poverty, homelessness, or other barriers that are hard to overcome.”
Destiny was skeptical. “I just knew I was going to deal with an attitude, and I thought she was going to get the bare minimum out of me,” she said.
Instead, their first meeting ended with laughter.
“We ended the very first session with, ‘I weirdly like you, and I don’t know if I like this,'” Destiny said.
Abby met Destiny where she was, literally, holding meetings wherever worked best while she was living in her car. Rather than pushing reunification, Abby focused on helping Destiny rebuild herself first.
Together, they established four goals: improve her mental health, strengthen her parenting skills, find stable housing, and learn healthy budgeting habits.
“She was just being very non-judgmental about everything,” Destiny said.
Hope Takes Root
A month into the program, Destiny learned her sister was willing to care for her children in Georgia. For the first time, she realized she didn’t want someone else to raise them. Through conversations with Abby, she also recognized that the biggest obstacle wasn’t a lack of love; it was fear.
“It wasn’t that she didn’t want her kids,” Abby said. “It was that she was afraid she couldn’t parent them”
That realization became a turning point. Destiny began participating in visits with her children and gradually built a relationship with their foster family. They celebrated holidays together, attended gymnastics practices, and supported one another through life’s challenges. When Destiny’s car was repossessed, the foster family even loaned her a vehicle.
“We still have a great relationship,” Destiny said. “They’re actually my emergency contacts.”
With consistent encouragement from Abby and support from the foster family, Destiny found employment, secured housing, improved her budgeting skills, enrolled in HopeTree’s Outpatient Counseling program, and continued strengthening her parenting skills.
“Abby helped me understand that my children have feelings too,” Destiny said. “Instead of getting mad, sit them down, talk to them, and help them understand.”
A Family Reunited
In May 2025, less than a year after losing custody, Destiny’s two youngest children returned home on a trial placement. By September, she had regained custody of three of her four children, while her oldest daughter remained safely with family.
“We bring the resources, but Destiny did the hard work,” Abby said. “She was willing to learn, implement new skills, and make it happen.”
Although reunification had been achieved, Destiny chose to continue participating in Family Support so she could keep building her confidence as a parent.
By the spring of 2026, she was ready to confidently tell her Family Assessment and Planning Team that she could successfully parent on her own.
“I truly appreciate Abby not giving up on me,” Destiny said. “If HopeTree supports me like this, then I can’t imagine what you guys do for other people.”
Because of HopeTree’s Family Support program, Destiny gained more than parenting skills. She gained confidence, stability, and hope. Today, she is building a brighter future for her family, one rooted in resilience, healing, and the belief that change is possible.
Become a Foster Parent & Be Part of the Journey Home Foster parents provide more than a home; they provide hope. By welcoming a child into your family, you help create stability while supporting the goal of reunification. Could you be the support a child and family need?
HopeTree Celebrates New Richmond Office with Ribbon Cutting
Home > HopeTree Celebrates New Richmond Office with Ribbon Cutting
New location allows HopeTree to expand services and increase support for youth, adults, and families in the Richmond area.
HopeTree’s Executive Leadership Team is joined by former President and Executive Director Emeritus, Dr. Stephen Richerson, and members of the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors.
RICHMOND, VA (September 11, 2026) –HopeTree celebrated the opening of its new Richmond office with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 9, 2026, marking an important milestone in the organization’s continued commitment to serving youth, adults, and families throughout the Richmond area.
Located at 10800 Midlothian Turnpike, Suite 300, Richmond, VA 23235, HopeTree’s new office provides a more private and welcoming space for clients while creating opportunities to expand in-person services and grow the organization’s local team. The new location also positions HopeTree to serve more individuals and families in the Richmond area as the need for its services continues to grow.
“Today’s ribbon cutting represents something much more meaningful,” said Dr. Miller. “It represents a commitment to strengthening families, a commitment to supporting children, and a commitment to helping individuals and communities build brighter futures. Organizations like HopeTree bring expertise, bring compassion, and a deep commitment to helping people when they need it the most.”
HopeTree’s Richmond office currently offers Foster Care, Family Support, and Sponsored Residential services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The new location also creates opportunities to introduce additional in-person services, including Outpatient Counseling and Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) training.
“Growth only occurs through amazing people and partnerships,” said Jon Morris, President and Chief Executive Officer at HopeTree Family Services. “HopeTree is fortunate to have amazing people and partners throughout the Richmond region. This new office gives our team the space and resources needed to continue delivering hope through stability, belonging, and empowerment.”
The larger office also provides room for HopeTree to grow its Richmond-based team, which increases the organization’s capacity to serve more children, families, and individuals throughout the region. By expanding both client and staff space, HopeTree is better positioned to strengthen relationships, provide personalized support, and respond to the evolving needs of the community.
“We are proud to invest in a community that has been so important to our mission, and we are excited about what this expansion means for the future,” Morris said.
About HopeTree Family Services
HopeTree Family Services, a faith-inspired human services organization in Virginia, offers a wide range of programs for at-risk youth, their families, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the state. Programs include Developmental Disabilities Ministry, Foster Care, and Outpatient Counseling. Visit www.hopetreefs.org for more information.
