HANNIBAL – The Tri-County Alliance, a special initiative of the United Way of the Mark Twain Area, recently went out on a quest to help with bed bug situations affecting foster families.
Recently, there have been several cases where children have been placed in foster care and their belongings have become infected with bed bugs. Unless all bed bugs, nymphs, and eggs are effectively removed from children’s belongings, foster families can quickly become infected with bed bugs.
Treatment to remove bed bugs is very time consuming and expensive. The cost of removing bed bugs from a home is typically well over $1,000. Foster parents have to bear these costs themselves, as there is no state funding for these situations.
Recently, a foster mother took in a third foster child and unfortunately, unbeknownst to the foster mother, the child’s belongings were infested with bed bugs. The foster mother’s home became infested and due to her limited income, she could not afford the costly bed bug removal treatment.
The Tri-County Alliance worked to raise awareness of this issue and raise funds to help cover the cost of eliminating bed bugs. In total, local individuals and organizations provided nearly $2,000 in financial support.
The funds were then used to pay the bill for treatment to remove the bed bugs from that home and also to purchase a bed bug stove which was donated to the local Children’s Department office in Hannibal, which serves Marion, Monroe and Ralls counties .
When families take foster children into their care, they can now borrow the bed bug stove from the children’s department office, place all the child’s belongings in the appliance, turn it on and it will kill all eggs, nymphs and adult bed bugs with heat.
Children’s things can then be taken to the foster home without the risk of the home becoming infected with bed bugs.
This will then reduce the number of families that need the costly bed bug treatment in their home.
The Tri-County Alliance was able to make this project possible thanks to the generosity of local individuals and organizations who contributed financially to support this endeavor.
The Tri-County Alliance provides a partnership between local churches and organizations working to serve those with unmet needs.
For more information about the Tri-County Alliance, call 573-221-2761.
