An Angel in Bay County, in Time for the Holidays
Save Email Print
Bookmark and Share
Updated: 10:25 AM Nov 24, 2008
An Angel in Bay County, in Time for the Holidays
Bay County teacher starts a foster home for special needs kids in our area.
Posted: 9:29 AM Nov 24, 2008
Reporter: Elizabeth Prann
Email Address: elizabeth.prann@wjhg.com

Home For Special Children
Font Size:

A Bay County Elementary School teacher is taking in twelve children!

Well, not exactly, but as newschannel 7’s Elizabeth Prann tells us, she is starting a home for some special needs kids in our community and she hopes to give them the best Christmas yet.

Miss Forehand has been working with challenged kids for as long as she can remember. When she told her daughters and mother about her this project, no one was surprised.

"When I saw how passionate my child is by it, BJ has always taught this type of child," said Doris Dobbins, Bennie Joe Forehand's mom.

A large percentage of Miss Forehand’s student's are foster kids. Due to their unique nature, there is no a home here in Bay County that caters to their specific needs.

"These kids can't tell you, "I love you" because a lot of them can't say plain "I love you" but they show you in so many other way in they want to hug you, they want to hold you, the want to walk hand in hand with you but they can't really say, I love you or thank you," said Dobbins.

Miss Forehand has picked out a home to fit about twelve kids; it will be fully staffed 24-hours a day.

Speech and physical therapy will be on site and transportation will be provided as needed.

Last but not least there will be plenty of love.

"I want to fill it will wonderful children, I want to be able to meet their needs, whatever they need,” said Bennie Joe Forehand
The foster home is called Angels in the Wings Foster Home.

It will be at 819 Grace Avenue where she envisions the home, it's a former learning academy so it's outfitted with a lot of things she already needs. The only addition is sprinkler systems that will be installed on the second floor where the children will sleep.

"There’s nothing like this in Bay County..."

Miss Forehand names it appropriately Angels in the Wings. She hopes to have the doors open come January. Her mother and two daughters by her side...

"I want to help out... Like my mom," said Juliana & Keyahnee Forehand. They are both very proud of their mom

The only thing she needs now is a little help.

Bay County Commissioner Jerry Girvin is on board and the calls are starting to come in as the word spreads.

If you'd like to sponsor a room or help decorate call 850-624-5455.

Headlines - msnbc.com
  • Skyscraper runners take workouts to incredible heights

    Sprinting up 86 flights of stairs of the Empire State Building -- even if it's for a worthy cause -- is not everyone's idea of a good time. Especially when there's an elevator nearby. But tonight, more than 650 participants will take the long way up one of New York's most iconic landmarks at this year's Empire State Building Run-Up.Sprinting up 86 flights of stairs of the Empire State Building -- even if it's for a worthy cause -- is not everyone's idea of a good time. Especially when there's an elevator nearby. But tonight, more than 650 participants will take the long way up one of New York's most iconic landmarks at this year's Empire State Building Run-Up.


  • Tainted wipes destroyed as firm moves forward
    Truckloads of alcohol wipes, tankers of bulk liquids and cartons of chemicals have been hauled to secure landfills and waste disposal centers as a Wisconsin medical products supplier works to recover from a year-long contamination scandal blamed for illness and death.
  • Most docs tell white lies, study finds
    More than half of doctors surveyed told patients an untruth and 20 percent didn't report a medical mistake, new research finds.
  • Heartburn drugs linked to serious infections
    FDA warns that people taking drugs that suppress stomach acid production may be at an increased risk for intestinal bacteria infections.
  • Care to downsize that order? Many want smaller portions

    Study finds that, when offered, many restaurant patrons choose to consume less food and fewer calories. Study finds that, when offered, many restaurant patrons choose to consume less food and fewer calories.


  • Teen pregnancy, abortion rates at record low
    Birth and abortion rates among U.S. teens fell to record lows in 2008 as increased use of contraceptives sent the overall teen pregnancy rate to its lowest level since at least 1972, a study showed on Wednesday.
  • Americans significantly lower trans fat over decade
    Study finds that Americancs have experienced a decline in their blood levels of trans fat, which could mean a decreased risk of heart disease.
  • Inhalable caffeine a cheap buzz, but may have risks

    Critics worry club-goers will use the the 'AeroShot' caffeine device so they can drink until they drop.Move over, coffee and Red Bull. A Harvard professor thinks the next big thing will be people inhaling their caffeine from a lipstick-sized tube. Critics say the novel product is not without its risks.


  • Komen charity under scrutiny for funding, science
    The Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity defines its mission as finding a cure for breast cancer. In recent years, however, it has cut by nearly half the proportion of fund-raising dollars it spends on grants to scientists working to understand the causes and develop effective new treatments for the disease.
  • Paternity questions plague 1 in 10, firm says

    The company that made its name peddling drugstore paternity tests to uncertain parents now says that more than 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. has had reason to ask the question: Who’s your Daddy? Gary Garner finally confirmed he's the real father of Skyler, 14. The company that made its name peddling drugstore paternity tests to uncertain parents now says that more than 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. has had reason to ask the question: Who’s your Daddy? Gary Garner finally confirmed he's the real father of Skyler, 14.