LYNN — Foster parent Marissa Pike knows how to give kids hope. 

Pike received the Lynn Area Foster Parent of the Year Award from Lynn City Council in June, less than two years after she started fostering. At the age of 27, she has now fostered over 140 children. 

Pike said her name is well known in the Massachusetts foster care community because she is willing to take on cases that are seen as more difficult, such as children with special needs, medical issues, and older children. 

“Older kids are harder because they know themselves. They know what they want, and they know the situation,” Pike said.

“But I want the hard ones. I want the kids who are not going to be easy to connect with, because I want to show that these children are capable of being reached,” she continued.

As for her approach as a foster parent, Pike sets the children up for success by giving them an organized, consistent routine, which is highly beneficial for kids who often have trauma inflicted by unpredictable environments. 

“When kids come here, I’m very straightforward. I lay out expectations right away, because I find it easier to be more structured and then laid back once you see where the kids are. It’s better to start to loosen up a little bit when it comes to freedom and privileges as opposed to being overly lenient and then trying to reel them back in,” she said.

“But I also value the kids’ opinions. I want their feedback. If things aren’t going great at the house, we sit down and come up with ways we think things can improve. Kids who come from other homes and haven’t done well, are asking to come back to me,” she added. 

Pike herself was in foster care from age 12-22, and said her background allows her to relate to the children by earning their trust on a deeper level. 

“The kids don’t see a lot of people who get it, because a lot of people don’t get it, even if they have good intentions. One thing that the system was missing was more people like me,” she said.

“Anyone can tell you that they did it, but not everyone knows what it’s like to grow up without your family, or to not know where you’re going at night, or to feel loved. I felt that when I was in the system, and I didn’t want kids to have that,” she said. 

Now an EMT with multiple college degrees, Pike said overcoming her adversities shows the kids that they can “believe that they are capable of making their life great, and to know that where they came from can’t define them.” 

Although being a foster parent has its ups and downs, Pike said the reward is greater than the struggle. 

“I’ve found my purpose. Nothing in life that’s good is easy,” she said.