Judy Cockerton shares a tender moment with her youngest daughter, one of many children who inspired her to reform foster care. Photo by Arthur Pollock.

Ten years ago, when Judy Cockerton, then 48, read a news item about a child who had been kidnapped from his crib in a foster home, she gathered her family and said, “What can we do to help foster children?” It was the turning point for Cockerton, who decided at that moment to take on the challenge of helping foster children. Until that time, she had been focused on running her two award-winning toy stores in the Boston area.

Now Cockerton is the founder and director of a nonprofit dedicated to improving conditions for children in the foster care system. Along the way, she spearheaded construction of an intergenerational community to create a supportive environment for foster children in Massachusetts.

“Traditionally, people have assumed that the only way to help foster kids is to foster or adopt them,” she says. “While that is the ultimate goal, it’s too much to ask of most people.” Her solution was to start Treehouse Community, offering a variety of ways to help.

“They can move to Treehouse and fill an elder role. They can work in the Treehouse Garden, offer workshops and classes, donate books to the library or host a community tea. And, of course, they can write a check to support our engaging programs,” she explains.

After they read the newspaper article 10 years ago, Cockerton and her husband and two children decided to become a foster family. As soon as they finished their training, they took in two little girls.

Cockerton’s research about foster care triggered a deeper concern. She learned that the approximately 25,000 foster children each year who “age out” of the system at age 18 are at greater risk for poverty, homelessness and prison.

To understand the system more, she visited foster homes. She remembers one in particular, where six toddlers were being cared for. As they all gathered around her, she sang, “Trot, trot to Boston.” At the lyric “Don’t fall in,” they collapsed in a heap. “All those little arms and legs – so much enthusiasm and potential and joy,” she says, her voice breaking with emotion. “I knew then I had to commit myself to their lives and futures.”

Cockerton knew all about community engagement because of her involvement with her toy stores. “We were always running community events, kite flying festivals, fall gatherings, songfests and special activities. I’ve always loved to network and create solutions to enhance the lives of children and families,” she says. Channeling this energy into her new cause, she founded the nonprofit Treehouse Foundation with the goal of creating a supportive community to help move children out of foster care.

To explain her vision, Cockerton refers to the African word, “ubuntu,” popularized by Nobel Prize Winner Desmond Tutu, which means that each of us finds our humanity reflected in the people around us. Cockerton says, “Children in foster care are invisible. Treehouse Communities give them back their humanity.” And because the community is intergenerational, it increases the humanity of elders as well.

She explained her idea to private and foundation donors and state officials, starting with the Massachusetts Commissioner of the Department of Social Services. Within three months she had formed an alliance with Beacon Communities, LLC, and found a parcel of land in Western Massachusetts. Later, she partnered with Berkshire Children and Families.

The Treehouse Community opened on June 2, 2006, in Easthampton, Massachusetts, with Mt. Tom as a backdrop for 12 family townhouses, 48 elder cottages and a community center. Cockerton spends a lot of time raising money to fully develop the Treehouse Community. She believes it could become a model that can help children in foster care throughout the country.

In addition to adopting a child herself, Cockerton continues to find new ways to help the foster care community. In 2007 she founded another nonprofit, Sibling Connections, to help maintain contact among siblings who have moved into separate homes.

Does she ever stop to enjoy her achievements? Cockerton recounts a recent visit to the Treehouse Community, where she was hosting a group of potential funders: “There I was sitting on the back porch of the Community Center. I could look up to see Mount Tom. People were riding bikes and walking dogs, children were playing on the meadow, folks were harvesting in the Community Garden.

“I felt a sense of peace and joy and connection. A caring community is something everyone should have in their lives. I’m glad to have Treehouse as part of mine.”

Read Judy Cockerton’s blog about her vision for foster care, Out of the Foster Care Box.

Jerry Waxler, M.S., blogs about life story writing on the Memory Writers Network.