Detroit Couple Who Raised 70 Foster Kids Gets New Home

Stephen and Loretta Rodriguez spent decades rescuing children who had nowhere else to go, and now their community has returned the favor in the most beautiful way.

The Detroit couple, married 43 years and now 85 and 79, opened their home to between 60 and 70 foster children over the years. They gave love and stability to kids facing the hardest moments of their young lives.

One of those children was Shana Risby, born to a mother struggling with addiction and given up at birth. The Rodriguezes raised her with the kind of unconditional love that transforms lives.

"I'm just grateful that I was raised by two people whose main purpose is to pour love," Risby said from her current home in California.

But recently, the couple who protected vulnerable children for so long faced their own crisis. Risby was shocked to learn her grandparents were in danger of losing their home to eviction, something they'd never experienced before.

When Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries heard about their situation, they knew they had to act. Led by Dr. Chad Audi, the organization provided the Rodriguezes with a completely furnished home where they can live rent free for two years.

Their new home came with everything: furnished bedrooms, living and dining rooms, a washer and dryer, new flooring, and even a refrigerator stocked with groceries. Most importantly, it gave them peace of mind.

Sunny's Take

For Risby, watching her community rally around the people who raised her felt like coming full circle. The little girl her grandparents once rescued had finally found a way to help rescue them in return, with the support of neighbors who never forgot the couple's decades of generosity.

Seventy children got a second chance at childhood because two people chose love over convenience, again and again.