A couple from Yekooche First Nation paused in Williams Lake on a long a walk they are on in support of children in the foster care system.
Kim and Jordan Joseph left Prince Rupert on July 27, the community where their four children are in foster care.
The couple are walking to Victoria in an act of protest against the system currently in custody of their four sons.
"It's a really big battle," said Kim Joseph.
The four boys have been in and out of foster care since 2022, after Kim said she reached out to the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) for help when one of their sons began to display problem behaviours.
The couple were living in Yekooche First Nation, which is 45 minutes northwest of the community of Fort St. James, near the geographic centre of the province — a remote community with limited access to technology. Their sons, however, were sent to Prince Rupert to live in foster care, an eight-and-a-half-hour drive away from where they lived.
The two had planned to relocate to Terrace to be closer to their sons, but said they became increasingly frustrated with the limitations put on them by MCFD and the lack of access to visitation. They were reportedly only allowed two-hour supervised visits with their sons, one at a time, and Jordan was not allowed to visit any of the children but his one biological son.
MCFD said while they cannot comment on specific cases they said the safety and well-being of a child is always the ministry's first priority. MCFD said visitation depends on circumstances and is centred around what is in the best interest of the child or children.
"We need to make sure we are doing every we can to keep children connected to community and culture, and wherever possible, safely with their families," said Minister Grace Lore of the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
MCFD also provided other background information stating the ministry provides financial assistance for family to access meetings or appointments, supplies and equipment in emergency situations for families.
After not being able to celebrate one of their son's birthday's, Kim said she "lost it" and the couple decided to walk to raise awareness of the issues facing families and children in the foster care system.
Kim and Jordan spent a week in Williams Lake, getting some much needed rest and medical attention for Jordan's feet, which were swollen and painful, and they were given a place to stay at Xatsull (Soda Creek) while they recovered.
They were drumming and singing with some supporters at the MCFD offices in Williams Lake on Sept. 16 to help to continue to raise awareness of their concerns and in solidarity with other families facing similar challenges.
Kim began to cry as she expressed her fear as a mother of ending up without a relationship with her sons. She herself grew up in the foster care system and did not forgive her mother until later in life for her feelings of abandonment.
"Our kids are really confused right now and they don't know what's going on," she said, noting her children don't have contact with one another either.
The couple left to continue their walk on Sept. 17 to make their way towards Victoria and hope to gather with supporters there to call for better treatment of families dealing with the foster care system. Their social media group page Walking for all children in ministry has 1,700 members.
"When you're dealing with MCFD you hurt, when you can't hold your children, you hurt," she said through tears on her update to the group on Sept. 17.
"I miss our boys, I want them home," she said, as she called for people to share their stories in an effort to be heard by the government.
"No one on this earth deserves this pain."
Families who feel they've been treated unfairly do have access to a complaint process. The MCFD website says people who have reached out to their social worker and there has been no resolution can call 877-387-7027 and ask to speak to a complaints specialist. Families may also reach out to the Representative for Children and Youth and speak to an advocate to explore ways to solve problems they may be having or navigate the complaints processes
This story has been updated to include a response from the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
