A foster care facility dedicated to keeping brothers and sisters together has opened in Palmdale, marking the culmination of a personal mission for actor Christian Bale and his wife Sibi.
Together California, which held its ribbon-cutting ceremony recently, features 12 fully-furnished housing units spanning 11,000 square feet on a 4.67-acre property purchased in 2022. The facility aims to address what Bale identifies as a fundamental failure in California's foster care system: the routine separation of siblings when they enter state custody.
"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," Bale told the Hollywood Reporter two years ago, according to Good News Network.
The Welsh actor's commitment to the project stems from a deeply personal place. After the birth of their first daughter, Bale and his wife began contemplating what would happen to her if they suddenly died. That reflection led them to investigate California's foster care system, the largest in the nation, where they discovered that most siblings entering care are separated and raised apart.
"It's our job to turn their heartbreak and their pain into love and hope and a sense of future," Bale said at the facility's opening, according to Good News Network.
While Bale played a central role in bringing the project to life, the effort required substantial community and philanthropic support. The Austrian American Council West raised over $9 million for the initiative. Actor and philanthropist Leonardo di Caprio also contributed funding to the project.
The facility's location in Palmdale came about through the advocacy of Kathryn Barger, Supervisor for Los Angeles County's 5th District. UCLA Professor Eric Esrailian, one of Together California's co-founders, explained her role in the project's development.
"She embraced this project. She said we have to do this in the Antelope Valley. She connected us with Palmdale, and here we are today," Esrailian told ABC, according to Good News Network.
The need for such a facility is acute. Los Angeles County houses more children in foster care than any other jurisdiction in the United States, creating an urgent demand for innovative approaches to child welfare.
"With LA County having more kids in foster care than anywhere else in America, it's time we stand together and take a holistic, loving, and long-term approach to take better care of our children," Bale said, according to Good News Network.
The organization running the facility will focus its operations on maintaining sibling connections, providing a stable environment where brothers and sisters can remain together during one of the most difficult periods of their lives. The approach represents a departure from traditional foster care placement, which often prioritizes finding any available home over keeping family units intact.
Together California stands as a model for how targeted philanthropy and community collaboration can address specific gaps in social services, offering children in crisis the opportunity to maintain their most important relationships during a time of upheaval.
