They went through months of screenings and trainings to become foster parents — and finally got their license and became foster parents last June.

But before the Aguirres could take in foster kids, they needed a bigger place. They told the foster care agency that they would move, but Gutierrez didn’t expect them to act so quickly. It’s a struggle to find foster parents in D.C. at all in part because high rents make it difficult to find people with enough space to do it. 
The Aguirres first looked at two-bedroom apartments when a friend suggested they try to buy a house instead. They were surprised to find one they could afford, and with four bedrooms ― enough to take in three kids at a time. Alex felt he had finally accomplished the American dream. Thanks to years of hard work, he owned his own home. The couple’s framed foster care home license stands displayed on top of a glass bookcase in their new dining room. The lower shelves of the case are dedicated to wedding photos and religious paraphernalia.

“I can say I made it,” he said. “We made it.” 

Taking in foster children changed Alex and Lisben. When they first met the little girl who embraced them as mommy and daddy, Alex cried. 

“I need them and they need me,” he said. “That fills the space in my heart to be a dad.”