Although she grew up in a healthy household for most of her life, by the time Cara Zazelenchuk was 16 years old, she couldn’t remember what it felt like to have a stable home or a normal teenage life.

She moved to Jasper from Fox Creek, leaving behind her dad and sisters when she was 14, to live with her mom. 

“I knew I was going into a bad situation. I just thought I would try it,” Zazelenchuk, now 21, said of moving in with a parent struggling with drug and alcohol abuse.

Zazelenchuk spent a year and a half trying. She rarely slept. She made her own rules and stayed out as late as she wanted. 

And in many cases she found herself couch surfing and eating dinner at her friend’s houses.

“I basically just found every reason to avoid being home,” she said. “I tried to keep myself busy.”

Then one day, at the age of 16, Zazelenchuk realized her home was no longer safe. There were people in and out of her house at all hours of the day and night, and there was always an ample supply of alcohol and drugs lying around.

“Living with my dad, I grew up in a good home and, so I knew what was right and what was wrong, and I knew this was wrong and I knew if I wanted to stay in Jasper, I needed to do something about it,” she said.

Zazelenchuk had already been seeing an outreach worker – as per the conditions set by her dad when she moved to town – so she decided to ask her for help.

“I went to Anna (DeClercq) and was like, ‘I can’t do it. It’s getting to a point where it’s not safe.’”

With DeClercq’s help, Zazelenchuk was placed in a foster home in Jasper, allowing her to stay in the town she’d grown to love.

She was put into the care of Nancy Taylor, who had already fostered a few children in town on a short-term basis.

Zazelenchuk wasn’t short-term, though. She became a part of Taylor’s family, living with her for two years until she graduated from high school.

“She’s like a daughter and she considers me her mom,” said Taylor of her relationship with Zazelenchuk.

The two women, even now, a few years after Zazelenchuk moved out, still get together and enjoy each other’s company.

Zazelenchuk said she was lucky and she’s endlessly grateful for Taylor, DeClercq and the community of Jasper for keeping her safe and supporting her no matter what happened.

“I couldn’t imagine if I was stuck in that position and I had come to Anna and she said, ‘Sorry there’s nothing I can do for you.’ 

“I don’t know where I’d be right now. I’d probably be lucky if I graduated.”

Zazelenchuk’s unimaginable outcome is actually quite plausible in Jasper, where there is a shortage of foster parents to take children or teens into their homes for short-term or long-term care.

“It is always an ongoing issue that when teens are in need of a break or a safe space to stay, that there are no placements in our community,” said DeClercq, a youth and teen outreach worker with Community Outreach Services. “Cara’s a different situation, but lots of times we’re just looking for families to do respite.” 

Taylor has played that role, as well, in Jasper.

“I’ve had kids for as short as a weekend,” she said. “It could be respite, where the parents need a break and the teens need a break for a weekend. It may be as simple as that. It might not seem like a big thing, but it might prevent an incident or things getting worse, just to even have a break.”

Taylor said she hasn’t really kept track, but she knows she’s taken in at least six individuals over the years.

“In every situation my kids were desperate and that’s why in every situation, at that moment, I said, ‘Yes.’ 

“I tried not to feel like I had to help every single kid because you can’t, but for me every single kid matters, so one at a time and at times I did have two.”

Taylor didn’t set out to be a foster parent. She actually thought it was something she could never do. She thought it would rip her heart out.

“But since doing it and the opportunity arising – the phone ringing and asking me – it hurts too much not to,” she said, noting that “the rewards are huge.”

To become a foster parent, the adults in a household have to take training. If eight people in Jasper commit, the training could be held in town. Otherwise it would be in Edson or Hinton.

Zazelenchuk said she hopes her story will inspire the people of Jasper to take the training, even if they don’t end up using it. She said it’s important that there are options for youth and teens growing up in unsafe, unhealthy environments.

“I don’t want anyone to think that they’re stuck in a position. I think that’s the most important thing,” she said. “It’s really important that if kids are in that position, they have other options.”

Zazelenchuk is doing her part, as well. She is there for anyone who needs a hand, a shoulder or an ear, because she wants everyone to know, “There’s always going to be a better life.”