'They're a big part of why I am the person I am today'

Daniela's father killed her mother when Daniela was 4. The relatives she was sent to live with sexually and physically abused her until, at age 11, she fled to live with her teenage brother - and wound up in foster care.

Daniela, 29, is now married with two children and has been a foster mother for more than three years. She's also had years of counseling to help her work through her childhood experiences.

"Becoming a foster child was, in all honesty, a step up. For the first time in my life, no one was abusing me," she said.

Daniela was moved often, mostly from group home to group home. She attended eight middle schools before she met Barbara and James Reyes.

There, for the first time, she knew stability. Mealtime included conversations and laughter. A senile relative also lived at the Reyes home, and Daniela marveled at how she was treated with compassion, and respect.

Daniela took her first trip to Disneyland with the Reyes family and cried when she saw the Enchanted Castle.

But Daniela's introduction to normalcy wasn't an overnight miracle.

She wasn't used to having anyone take care of her. She resented the Reyeses' rules. At one point, she ran away to live with her sister.

"She couldn't put up with me. She called my caseworker to come and get me," she said.

Daniela broke down as she started to gather her things into bags one more time. She tried to commit suicide and ended up in the hospital.

"It's hard to explain, but after I left Kino, I just got on track," she said of returning to the Reyes home. "When I was in Kino, I had a one-to-one with God."

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It took some time, but James Reyes has adjusted to his wife's dedication to helping others. The spacious Avra Valley home they share has been a safe haven to several foster daughters as well as elderly relatives.

Barbara, or "Babs," wouldn't have it any other way.

Their parental love is obvious when you walk through their home. Family photos include not only their two sons, two daughters and their spouses, as well as 16 grandchildren, but also three foster daughters and several foster grandchildren.

Daniela brings her family there for all the holidays. So does Katie Ryan, another young woman the Reyes family helped.

The women call to tell Babs and James their good news, their fears and their heartache.

Daniela lives nearby and stops by regularly for coffee.

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Katie Ryan was 11 when she was taken to her first foster group home. She had fought with her mother constantly and was a chronic runaway. Her home life was chaotic, she said. And she couldn't live with her father because he had molested her.

"There were no rules. The house was a mess. There was no structure at all. Kids say they don't want structure, but they do want it, and they need it," she said.

Counselor after counselor tried to connect with Katie, but she couldn't bring herself to share her feelings. Then she met Babs, a volunteer working with Katie's probation officer.

"She came to see me, and for some reason, and I'm pretty sure it was God, I just opened up to her and spilled my guts," she said. The two stayed in touch, and eventually she moved into the Reyes home. Like Daniela, it took Katie time to adjust. She abused drugs and was sent to rehab.

"We were just really, really lucky," Katie said, referring to her teen years with Daniela in the Reyes home. "They're a big part of the reason why I am the person I am today."

And while Katie and Daniela didn't get along at first, they are now very close.

"When we get on the phone together, I have to clear my schedule because we can talk forever," said Katie, now 30.

Katie, who recently divorced, has two daughters, ages 12 and 4, and a son, 2. She hopes to begin nursing school in a year but first has to wrap up work on a degree from the University of Arizona in biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology.

She shares the details with James and Babs. "They are more like my parents than my parents are. I consider them family. We spend holidays and everything together," Katie said. "Babs and Jaime definitely taught us what it is to be selfless."

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So far, Daniela has helped six children. She currently cares for two young siblings, a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl, who have been with Daniela and her husband more than seven months. They are willing to adopt the children if the case unfolds that way.

"No group home could retain them due to the life they've had. I was their sixth placement in less than four months," she said. "There's nobody better than me to know what they are going through."

Daniela wasn't planning to take in any more children when a caseworker with Arizona's Child Protective Services called a few weeks back. There was a 20-month-old girl who had been in a crisis shelter more than a month. Daniela said no at first, but CPS called back.

She reconsidered.

The child arrived April 16 with a double ear infection and bronchitis.

Daniela is exhausted, and committed.