Colorado Congressional Rep. John Salazar Honored Shannon Richter as a Foster Care Advocate ‘Angel’ at National Washington DC Event

Washington DC – 10/04/07 – Colorado Congressional Rep. John Salazar nominated Shannon Richter of Pueblo, Colorado as a 2007 Angel in Adoption for her outstanding advocacy efforts with foster care youth and child abuse victim assistance.   The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which orchestrates the Angels in Adoption program, honored Shannon Richter, along with more than 180 Angels, at an awards ceremony and gala event in Washington, DC, October 4, 2007.

Shannon Richter was honored for her advocacy work and assistance with foster youth and child abuse victims.   She has worked over 16 years advocating for the rights of Pueblo’s most vulnerable abuse victims.  Ms. Richter is the founder and Executive Director of JOURNEYS, Inc., a foster care child placement agency in Pueblo, Colorado.    JOURNEYS, Inc. was established in 2004 to provide the highest level of safe, quality foster care homes for youth who have been displaced from their original living environments due to neglect, child abuse, delinquency and abandonment.  In December 2006, JOURNEYS, Inc. staff enlisted the assistance of Pueblo’s foster youth and created “Kommon Ground”, a unique peer to peer foster youth support program and website.

Shannon’s past victim advocacy efforts have included the creation of the Pueblo Rape Crisis Program in 1994 and the Pueblo County SANE/SART (Sexual Abuse Nurse Examiners/Sexual Assault Response Team) Program in 1997.  The SANE/SART Program enhances the quality of evidence collection for prosecution as well as provides professional crisis intervention and emotional support for victims of sexual assault, child abuse and their families.

The Angels in Adoption program is CCAI’s signature public awareness campaign and provides an opportunity for all members of the U.S. Congress to honor the good work of the constituents who have enriched the lives of foster children in the United States and abroad.

“Our goal is to raise awareness of the millions of foster children in the United States and abroad that are in need of permanent, safe and loving homes, and we congratulate Shannon Richter for her role in helping us to achieve this goal, said Deanna Carson Stacy, CCAI’s Executive Director.  “Thanks to Rep. John Salazar, Shannon Richter has received the recognition she deserves for her tireless efforts in the mission of helping these children realize their basic right of a family.”

Previous National Angels have included: First Lady Laura Bush,  Muhammad Ali, Dave Thomas, Jane Seymour, Patti LaBelle, Daunte Culpepper, Victoria Rowell and Bruce Willis.