Husband and wife helping kids who aged out of foster care with Hillsborough non-profit
VALRICO, Fla. - A husband and wife are helping teenage boys who have aged out of foster care with their mission called Forgotten Angels.
Cindy Tilley and David Tyler have dedicated their lives to help young men who have no one else.
"Who doesn't love the fact that, you know, that you're making that big a difference in their lives and that you're saving them from what could be a terrible path, jail or living on the streets," Cindy Tilley, founder of Forgotten Angels said.
Cindy Tilley and David Tyler are helping young men who have no one else.
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The couple made a huge difference in David Goings life. He bounced from foster home to foster home. Now he is so thankful to have a family.
"Cindy and David are like my mom and dad, so I treat them like that," said Goings. "The boys here are like my brothers."
"I don't have any biological children of my own. So to be called dad, to be told that. You mean I wanted to tell you first about this or that or anything that had happened that was important or significant to them means the world to me," explained David Tyler, Executive Director Forgotten Angels.
David Goings said the couple are like his parents.
Tilley believes with structure and love, the boys can grow and change. She knows how hard it can be since she also grew up in foster care.
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"You have no idea what it's like to be 17, 18 and out on your own and not have any type of, you know, anyone to fall back on," she said.
Others help too like former NFL player Brian Tyms who comes out and talks with the teens. He also grew up in foster care.
NFL player Brian Tyms talks to some of the teens.
"We are stronger than every single individual on this earth because they threw us to the dirt," shared Tyms. "And if we make it to see 21, which most of us don't think we will, anything is possible in life."
Tilley is so proud to see the difference all their work makes.
"I just had this conversation with one of my young men last night. And I asked him, I said, 'What do you think would happen if you hadn't come to Forgotten Angels?' Because he's getting ready to move out. He's got his own apartment," said Tilley. "And when you first met him, he wouldn't even look you in the eyes. Now he's smiling. He's got a girlfriend. He's going to get married. He said, 'I'd probably be dead,'" she recalled.
Forgotten Angels has a lot of space to help teens grow.
Forgotten Angels bought 12 acres to help support the teens and be a place of encouragement.
"We make sure that they get all of these things like that's very, very important to move them forward so that they can get out there and be independent and take care of themselves," Tilley explained.
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