A Letter From Clio

“I am the woman who makes sure the little man feels seen and heard. An advocate for honesty, truth, and respect, and a small-town woman with big-city aspirations.”

My work as a foster care supervisor is not just a job, it is my ministry. I love pouring into families, into parents, into children, and if I can help just one person, I feel like I have done exactly what I am supposed to do.

Marlboro County has strengthened me in ways I carry into that work every single day. Growing up here, we meet no strangers. We are all family. There is a compassion, a respect, a love for one another that is just woven into this place, and that is what shapes how I show up for the families I serve. Whenever I can, I work to keep children out of foster care by connecting them with family first, because I know how much that support means. I have lived it.

Marlboro is a place where you can grow. Where everyone feels like family and the land itself offers something to breathe into when life gets heavy. This county has so many attributes that never get the attention they deserve. But they are here, you just have to open your eyes to them.

LARHONDA ALFORD | CLIO