“It’s humbling to have the opportunity to do something for the kids that we once were,” De La Cruz said. “One day, a child is going to say it was these events that allowed them to have the materials and school supplies and uniforms that they needed to show up to school and not feel embarrassed. That’s powerful.” But the need extends beyond school supplies. There are currently about 8,500 children in Arizona’s foster care system, most under the age of 10. And there are only about 3,000 licensed foster homes available to care for them. The math is clear. Research shows that children placed with foster families are less likely to experience re-abuse and more likely to have the stability of fewer placements. “We all play a role in supporting these kids, whether it be through dollars, but also when you think about what being a foster parent can do to change the narrative of a child’s life,” De La Cruz said. “Today, there’s only one home for every four kids. Our community can step up, and they can do more than write a check. It’s going to have lifetime implications for somebody.” He speaks from experience when he says the goal must be to ensure families are waiting for kids, not the other way around. “The single best thing that anybody can do for children is give them a family-like setting,” he said. “Kids belong with people, not in institutions.” To those considering it, De La Cruz offers both encouragement and realism. “I tell them, ‘Go do it. But also recognize that it’s hard.’ It is joy and hardship, bringing a kid into your home that is not your child,” he said. “It is hard to raise your hand and say, ‘I want to do this.’ But I think it’s probably one of the most meaningful things anybody can do. What else are we here for if it’s not to help change somebody else’s life?” With two sons now, ages 5 and 2, De La Cruz finds himself in an unexpected chapter: shaping young lives while reparenting himself. At home, Mateo and Sebastian are tugging him into new territory: Disney movies, pool parties, movie nights with popcorn and ice cream. “We’re going to Disneyland and experiencing that through them, but also for myself,” he said. “As a parent, I’m so imperfect, mostly because I didn’t have a role model. I don’t know what I’m doing half of the time.” He credits Nataly, whose “most beautiful childhood” serves as a guide. “Just because I didn’t get to doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. In fact, they should . So I have to work extra hard to make sure that they do.” It is the daily act of closing a circle. The work is relentless, the need immense. So he propels himself — daily, tirelessly — toward a vision where Arizona becomes the gold standard for how to serve children in foster care. Toward a world where no child’s life is determined by the absence of support. “I show up to work every day, I give it all I’ve got, and then I realize that it isn’t enough, and I do it again the next day,” he said. It is the promise of a man who knows the two roads, who carries the ghost of a one-room adobe and knowledge of much worse into every meeting, and who has dedicated his life to ensuring that for the next child, support is not a matter of fortune, but a matter of course. To learn more, visit affcf.org . Whether it is his own child ( left ) or a student in ACCFC’s Keys to Success program ( right ), De La Cruz believes “we all play a role in supporting these kids.” “What else are we here for if it’s not to help change somebody else’s life?” 40 | FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE

Luis De La Cruz is living proof that when a child is seen, believed in and supported, the trajectory of an entire life can bend to the light — toward hope, wholeness and so much more than survival. FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE | 41 Photo by Scott Foust