The personal passion project of Hollywood A-lister Christian Bale seems to finally be coming to fruition as the Welsh actor recently broke ground on a children’s foster care village in Palmdale, California.
Founding the non-profit Together California, it’s taken Mr. Bale 16 years to really get the show on the road after being inspired to help improve the foster care system following the birth of his daughter in 2005.
Together California acquired a 4.67-acre site adjacent to McAdam Park in Palmdale, a city in the north of LA numbering around 160,000 inhabitants, in 2022. The ground-breaking ceremony coincided with a break in the recent stormy weather, and left both the natural lighting and sense of the future looking a lot more sunny.
“I had the very unrealistic idea that within one year I’d have created a miniature Sound of Music with kids singing on hills in an endlessly joyful environment,” the Batman star told The Hollywood Reporter. “But I discovered no, it takes an awful long time and really well-motivated people. It’s complicated and tough to help kids.
“It should be a hell of a lot easier than it was, but I didn’t flinch for one second.”
Offering pioneering care designed to keep foster siblings together, the “village” will feature 12 three-bedroom townhomes, each housing six children. A full-time, professionally trained foster parent will provide care and support.
Studio apartments will be available to provide temporary housing for visiting relatives or transitional housing for kids aging out of foster care. A 7,000-square-foot community center will also offer enriching programs and services as part of the project.
“Imagine the absolute pain and the trauma of losing your parents or being torn from your parents, and then losing your brothers and sisters on top of that. That’s no way to treat kids—and so, we will be the hub for that,” said Bale.
“I hope that this village will be the first of many, and I hope that people, Californians and Angelenos, know to come join us in opening our eyes to what’s happening right under our noses. These are our children, and we must help our children.”
Bale explained that it was the birth of his daughter, Luka, with his wife Sibi that first enlightened the actor as to the conditions of the foster care system in California.
The state has the largest number of foster kids in the nation, and often it sees siblings go in and get separated—unable to grow up together.
He also said he was influenced by his father, an environmental activist who worked with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and the Humane Society of the United States, and who moved the family around a lot. Philanthropy was part of David Bale’s life, and Christian recalled there often being people sleeping in the family home who had nowhere else to go.
