Home » About » Newsletters » December 2002
"ACLU Files Federal Housing Lawsuit on Behalf of Foster Family"
December 2002 Edition of the ACLU of Florida Newsletter
By Alessandra Soler Meetze
Communications Director
When Steven and Corinna Gourlay approached the vice-president of their homeowners association for permission to widen their driveway, they had no idea the simple request to make room for their 15-passenger van would land them in court.
But that's exactly what happened.
Walter A. Lucas, vice-president of the Forest Lake Estates Civic Association, slapped them with a lawsuit for operating a "business" out of their single family home ? a violation, he alleges in court papers, of the deed they signed three years ago just before moving into their quiet, suburban neighborhood in Port Richey, just north of Clearwater.
That "business" is a foster home.
In its lawsuit, the homeowners association argues that the Gourlays' acceptance of payment to provide foster care is a violation of the deed restriction because it is akin to running a business from their home. (The Gourlays receive an average of $12 per day per child.)
As foster parents licensed by the state, the Gourlays raise "five (5) persons who are not related to [Mr. Gourlay] by either blood or marriage." Lucas claims they've created an "annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood."
Although the five foster kids, ages 3 to 14, are not related to Corinna and Steven Gourlay, they've grown to love and trust "mom" and "dad" for the past two years.
"Whether they're ours or someone else's, the kids are part of our family," said Corinna Gourlay, a 34-year-old licensed practical nurse who gave up her full-time job five years ago when her youngest son was born. "When they're out with friends or my parents, the house feels empty. I can't imagine life without them."
She and her husband of three years have four children of their own ranging in ages from 5 to 15. All nine kids share the 2,140-square-foot Gourlay home with Sassy, their beloved Golden Retriever, Jake the Chihuahua, and three cats ? all vying for the attention of their devoted foster parents.
"In a 'normal' family you don't wake up in the morning and find another child sleeping in your room, but my kids are very welcoming," said Corinna Gourlay. "I'm very proud of them. It's not an easy thing to wake up and realize someone else is playing with your things and you now have to share everything. But they take it in stride ...."
The Gourlays have been raising foster kids since January of 2000, when the Florida Department of Children and Families asked Corinna to help care for an eight-year-old foster child in the custody of Corinna's mother, who herself became a foster mom when Corrina turned 18 and moved out of the house. The young girl had withered down to 40 pounds after having no desire to eat with a plastic feeding tube lodged in her stomach. Suffering from Down syndrome, she needed constant supervision and frequent medical attention.
As an experienced nurse, Corinna was able to give her the appropriate care she needed. So she and her husband decided to become licensed foster parents to care for the little girl, and others like her.
As an emergency foster shelter, the Gourlay home has served as a safe haven for dozens of children fleeing abusive homes. Some stay for as little as 24 hours, others for a long as two years. Most of the children suffer from mental health problems that stem from years of mistreatment. Others endure lifelong health problems because of birth defects caused by alcohol or drug consumption by their birth mothers during pregnancy.
"The idea of foster care is to reunify the children with their parents, but some parents need more time than others, so sometimes it turns out the kids have to stay in care longer than imagined," said Corinna. "I try to make them feel like part of the family by giving them stability and reassurance while they're going through these difficult times."
Other than the fact that a case worker visits them three times a week, the Gourlays are just like any other large family.
"Sometimes it's loud, sometimes it's quiet, but it's our home," added Corinna.
On an average day, they drink two gallons of milk and dirty about three loads of laundry. And CC's, the neighborhood pizza joint, ranks at the top of the list when is comes to favorite family outings. And just like other families in the neighborhood, they take summer vacations.
"I run and buy five or six gallons of milk every time I go to the grocery store and people look at me funny, " explained Corinna. "Once, a lady came up to me and asked if there was a milk shortage because she saw that I had six gallons in my car. "
The Gourlays have countersued in federal court, with the help of the Tampa Chapter of the ACLU of Florida.
They're challenging the association, saying its "discriminatory housing practices" amount to a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, national origin and familial status.
"The Gourlays are members of a protected class, in that they are in the class of persons who enjoy protection from discrimination based on 'familial status' under the terms of 42 U.S.C. § 3601, et seq.," argue ACLU lawyers in the countersuit.
"No one has the right to define what a family is," said ACLU cooperating attorney Matthew Moore. "Foster children are no different than any other children."
The Gourlays are represented by ACLU cooperating attorneys Moore and Paul Rebein, both of the law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P., and Randall Marshall, ACLU-FL Legal Director.
In addition to seeking an injunction to prevent the homeowners association from forcing them to evict their foster children, they're demanding a jury trial to recoup damages and attorneys' fees.
