Christian Bale’s Foundation Breaks Ground On Foster Care Village
Christian Bale has played a superhero…Batman…and now he’s going to be a hero to the foster care system with what his foundation is building.
Founding the non-profit Together California, it’s taken Christian Bale 16 years to really get the show on the road after being inspired to help improve the foster care system following the birth of his daughter in 2005. But now they’ve broken ground on a piece of land to make his dream a reality.
“I had the very unrealistic idea that within one year I’d have created a miniature Sound of Music with kids singing on hills in an endlessly joyful environment,” the Batman star told The Hollywood Reporter. “But I discovered no, it takes an awful long time and really well-motivated people. It’s complicated and tough to help kids.”
The whole idea behind this village is to keep foster siblings together. The development will feature 12 three-bedroom townhomes, each housing six children. A full-time, professionally trained foster parent will provide care and support. Studio apartments will be available for temporary housing for visiting relatives or transitional housing for kids aging out of foster care.
They are also building a 7,000-square-foot community center offering enrichment programs and services as part of the project. He said, “Imagine the absolute pain and the trauma of losing your parents or being torn from your parents, and then losing your brothers and sisters on top of that. That’s no way to treat kids—and so, we will be the hub for that.”