Sharing the love: Barrios hosts holiday party for foster children
A holiday party at La Hacienda Scenic Loop was the first outing for foster children from Roy Maas Youth Alternatives since the spread of the coronavirus.
They dined in the cool, night air beneath the glow of white lights strung across the patio. They sat with caretakers at rustic, metal tables laden with plates of chicken fingers and beef and chicken fajitas. Volunteers served soft drinks and seconds of entrees with helpings of french fries, refried beans and Spanish rice.
There weren’t any signs of troubled days, just wide-eyed wonder at the festive celebration held in their honor. Dr. Julie Strentzsch, chief operating officer of the organization, said it was great to see the youngsters open up at the restaurant on Boerne Stage Road.
“It’s been 18 months of some difficult circumstances for kids already coming from hard places,” she said. “The direct care staff put their heart and soul every day in making our kids’ lives better.”
Louis Barrios, president and CEO of Los Barrios restaurants, hosted the free party for more than 70 children and 20 caretakers from the nonprofit that provides services and emergency care for boys and girls ages 5 to 17. The event was one of eight holiday dinners Los Barrios will host for youth in need and foster children. Sponsors of the dinners include The Gordon Hartman Foundation, Nustar Foundation, SWBC Insurance and philanthropist Harvey E. Najim, one of the servers at the event.
“Every time we do this, I have a child say this is the nicest restaurant I’ve been to in my life,” Barrios said. “They’re not used to being at the front of the line. There’s something about being with the children, giving them a plate and talking to them. That simple act makes you feel the love going out to them.”
The holiday parties started
when Barrios reached out to foster facilities about featuring celebrations at his family’s restaurants or their locations. North East Independent School District’s Mckinney-vento Project, which helps homeless youth and children, is scheduled to follow with events in late November and early December.
The names and faces of children under 18 were withheld to protect their privacy, and Melissa Rodriguez, 18, spoke on their behalf. The teen wanted her voice to be heard, for people to know she’s learned how to cope with her past. The teen said she’s learned that life is a good thing with help.
“This means a lot to us,” Melissa said. “It makes our day a little better. They have never given up on me. I feel loved, like I have a family.”
Barrios said his charity, Viola’s Huge Heart Foundation, will donate $20,000 to the THRU Project, which supports teens who age out of the foster care system. He said foster children often become homeless when they age out of the system, and many of those involved in the sex trade and trafficking were formerly in foster care.
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, more than half of older teens age out of care without being connected or reunited with a family. A 2017 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children report said 1 in 7 runaways were possibly sex trafficking victims; 88 percent of the youth were formerly in a child welfare agency or foster care.
“It is the biggest problem in our city and nation that no one knows about,” Barrios said. “There are a lot of champions that we have in the city to help solve this problem. The problem is so big it’s going to take community resolve and all of us.”
The foundation is named in honor of the restaurateur’s late mother, Viola Barrios, who started Los Barrios in 1979 out of an old boathouse at Avenue B and Jones Avenue with $3,000 in savings. On April 23, 2008, an 18-year-old neighbor broke into her home and murdered the matriarch. Louis Barrios forgave his mother’s killer and founded the nonprofit to further her legacy of goodwill to others.
To celebrate their mother’s birth month of July, they began Viola’s Huge Heart Festival to raise money and awareness of the foundation.
Several years ago, the Barrios family started inviting foster children to the birthday celebrations. The number of youngsters rose from 20 to more than 300 children in 2019.
“(For) our mother, this was always in her heart,” Diana Barrios Treviño said before serving the young guests.
When Blair Thompson, Roy Maas Youth Alternatives CEO, received artwork from a little girl at their campus, he had planned to slip it on his car’s visor. She said it would look better on that universal exhibit space for kids’ art — the refrigerator.
“The thing that comes to me is how much the kids are like our kids,” he said. “They want to be loved, accepted, adored and be safe.
That’s what we try desperately to provide them with at RMYA.”
That night in the rural setting, singer/songwriter Austin Ausley strummed his guitar through a playlist that ranged from The Eagles’ “Hotel California” to Neal Diamond hits. Sixyear-old girls near the stage had a special request — the can’t-get-it-out-of-yourhead children’s anthem — “Baby Shark.”
The music brought the kids to their feet. When they pushed from the table, the metal chairs scraped the flagstone surface and creaked like a rusty, old gate. They mingled with caretakers who enjoyed a night off from cooking, cleaning and counseling. Debbie Mccollum, senior director of program leadership, sat across from a boy ready to boogie. When he went to show off his break dancing moves, she convinced him not to get his clothes dusty and dance with her instead.
“Our kids come from tough places and have been through tough experiences,” Mccollum said. “Many of the kids have never had an experience at a restaurant like this. To have these nice volunteers serve them, it’s heartwarming.”
The honorees had their own gifts for their hosts and volunteers. They clustered beyond flames flickering in a fireplace and held up signs that bore the heartfelt message “Thank you.”
“Just sharing a bit of your kindness with them goes a long way,” Barrios said. “It makes a huge impact on not only your life, but their lives. Everyone can do this — anybody can do it.”