Mayor Craig Cates, at the recent City Commission meeting, proclaimed the month of May as Foster Care Month.

At any given time, there are between 90 and 100 children in Monroe County in need of foster care, according to Jeremy Wilkerson, Director of Community Development for Wesley House Family Services.

As a large group of foster parents and some of the children in their charge came to the front of the room, Wilkerson noted that foster families “are the ones that open up their hearts and open up their homes when children’s homes are deemed unsafe.”

But even with all that support, he said, there are only about 60 foster homes in the county.

“We always need more,” he said.

“The youth of Key West are our most precious resource and hope for the future, all children deserve a safe, loving and nurturing place to call home,” reads the proclamation. “Foster families are unsung heroes that serve as the primary source of love, protection, and support to the abused and neglected children of Monroe County.”