LA Times Columnist Sandy Banks Speaks Out on Struggling Foster Care System

Where the lives of children hang in the balance, Los Angeles Times columnist Sandy Banks continues to shine a light on the big-picture forces that break families apart and the individuals and organizations that help children thrive.

The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica (UU Santa Monica) is proud to help propel this dialogue on foster care, presenting the 2014 Ernest D. Pipes, Jr. Distinguished Lecture by Ms. Banks. “Foster Care: Behind the Headlines, The Pain and Promise of Broken Families – How We can Help Them Heal” will explore both the socioeconomic pressures that lead families to tragic separations, and the community-based solutions that can turn the failing system around.

The presentation is FREE and open to the public on Saturday, October 25 at 7:30 p.m. The lecture includes a brief question and answer session, followed by a speaker’s reception with light refreshments. Visit UUSM.org for more information.

Location: Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica, 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404 (map). Free parking will be available in the parking structure on 16th Street just south of Arizona Avenue. Handicap parking is available behind the UU Santa Monica campus.

“I think it’s important to expand the discussion around the issue of foster care, so we can understand how the system works – or doesn’t work – and why children are stuck in the shadows, fending for themselves,” Banks said. “There are ways that each of us can help support those vulnerable children, and I’m pleased that UUSM is viewing this through a social justice lens and taking the lead in shining a spotlight on their needs.”