Couple raising four kids not related to them

ONTARIO — Melinda Shaum has a theory why she and her husband have ended up raising four kids who are not related to them.

“There must be a sign in our front yard that only kids can see: ‘If you need a good home, come here,’” she said.

Jim and Melinda Shaum have opened their home to four children who were in desperate situations. The Shaums are 71 and 68, respectively.

“We did not plan to have these kids. These kids found us,” Melinda said. She’s glad they did.

“Our faith has been such a huge part. Nothing we’ve done has been without prayer,” Melinda said. “They all needed a good home.”

All four kids attend Ontario Local Schools. Three are in high school. Nick is a senior, while Lia is a junior and Alivia is a sophomore. Aven is in sixth grade.

Also part of the family are Daisy, a Maltese, and Scampy, a Maltipoo. looked at me and said, ‘I am never leaving here,”’ Melinda recalled.

Jim added, “Trust was established early on.”

Instantly, Lia was no longer the only child. these kids. I have three daughters and a son.”

It goes both ways.

Nick was the impetus for this story. He reached out to the News Journal to suggest a story on Jim and Melinda, or “Ma” and “Pa.”

Sporting a Pittsburgh Steelers hoodie and cowboy boots for the interview, Nick is set to graduate from Ontario High School in May.

“I can actually do school,” he said of his current home. “Before in those other homes, school was never a priority.”

Without the Shaums, Nick said he’d be failing in school.

Now he has tentative plans to attend North Central State College. Nick is interested in a career in law enforcement.

Nick and Melinda have a special connection.

With Lia, that connection is with Jim. When she ran cross country, she looked for her dad before every meet. Jim was running a bit late for one.

“I didn’t see him, and we were at the starting line,” Lia said. “Coach had to push me in order to get me to go.”

Jim explained he was about 100 yards away.

“It was a parking situation,” he said. Lia attributed her anxiety to abandonment issues.

She referred to Jim as both her mom and dad in the interview.

“When I needed new underwear, we went to Walmart,” Lia said of a much earlier excursion with Jim.

Lia wore a Looney Tunes sweatshirt for the interview. She maintains she knows all the characters despite her youthful age.

Melinda and Jim Shaum, sitting with dogs Scampy and Daisy, are raising four kids who are not related to them, helping them overcome difficult home lives. Standing, from left, are Aven, Lia, Nick and Alivia. The Shaums have adopted Lia and Nick and plan to adopt Aven and Alivia, too.