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Sell your car with Carvana today. Terms and conditions apply. This is Jane Pauley. Actor Christian Bale has many callings, including a role, he tells our Tracy Smith, that might be his most important of all.
So How long have you been dreaming about this place? 17 years since my daughter was three years old. I thought it would take about two years to complete, which was obviously totally naïve, but so worth it. It's now 17 years. It took a lot longer than expected, but we're going to create an incredible home here for children.
And what better cause than that?
So I'm totally happy that it took this long. Where did the germ of the idea come from?
Well, I mean, look, I appreciate the question. And first off, I'm incredibly grateful that you guys are here and interested in what we're doing. You know, it's a total obsession of mine, so I really appreciate your interest in it. I don't really understand how anyone could not hear about the need for helping children in the foster community within Los Angeles. We have more foster kids than anywhere else in the United States of America.
I'm ashamed to say I didn't know that until 17 years ago and just felt like, look, if I was there and present at the moment when a child was being taken from their parents and then beyond that, split from their brothers and sisters, that of course, I think anyone with the most basic human decency would say, I want to step in and I want to help that child. And so this is what this project is. There is nothing else like it in Los Angeles. Keeping brothers and sisters together, creating a permanent, stable home for them if they wish, having permanent parents on board and therapeutic care. And with, as you were talking about before, there's an outfit.
Called SOS Children's Villages, which we based our model on. We're a separate entity, but we based it on that. And they've got the most stunning results: 100% graduation rate. You know, so many foster children age out and they end up either in prison very often, often homeless, and that just doesn't happen with this model.
So for me, it was such an easy choice to say, you know, we've got to take better care of our children. And I wanted to do it right here in Los Angeles, a city that has so many resources, but is also a city that seems to be oblivious to need for our children.
So was it really you heard the statistic about how many foster children there were and that just kicked off something inside you?
Well it was stunning to me because you know you hear about so many different causes and charities which are wonderful and totally worthwhile. But I couldn't believe that I was ignorant of that one, you know, and then thinking that I can't believe that other people wouldn't be equally as stunned and wanting to participate and join in on this. You said you were a little bit naive, you thought it would take a couple years to complete.
Well ignorance is bliss, you know. If I'd have known it had been 17 years, I still would have done it. You still would have done it. Do you think you moved around a lot as a kid? Do you think that had an effect on you?
I think, I mean look, I think it probably did, but I don't think you have to have any connection to foster care in your past. One of my sisters was put in foster care for a brief period of time, but I don't think you need to have that connection. It's just about a basic understanding that as a society, how can we not take care of our children?
So I don't think it requires a connection. It just requires having a heart. A human connection. Yeah. How often do foster kids get separated from their brothers and sisters?
It's approximately 75% of the time.
So you imagine the trauma of that, you know, the absolute tragedy, no matter what the circumstances are, whether, you know, the children absolutely have to be taken away or whether it's, you know, a parent who absolutely loves them but they're up to their eyeballs and debt and can't support, you know, right now. There's all sorts of reasons. But the added trauma to being taken from your parents and then you lose your siblings, you know, that's just something that we shouldn't be doing. Talk about that a little more. What is it about this that just grabbed your heart and held on for almost two decades now?
Yeah, well look, you just imagine being there every individual incident where those children are getting taken from their parents and split from their siblings. And if you really put yourself in that position, you go, what kind of person would I be if I didn't reach out and help them when I'm able to, you know, in whatever ways. And some people can provide millions of dollars and some can provide tens of dollars and some people can provide volunteer volunteer work and in-kind support, etc. But doing something, just reaching out and doing something will feed you immensely as well as you'll recognize just how much you're helping these children who have done nothing. to find themselves in the situation that they're in.
No fault of their own whatsoever and to be able to watch and to see them rebuild themselves, rebuild their trust, to understand that people do genuinely love them, that they can trust adults, you know, once again. And have hope and have a future and begin to dream of a future because so often wonderful people involved in traditional foster care, but very often it gets to a place where it's so impermanent and so unstable that the kids really can't even begin to think of any dreams and what they might do in their adult life, etc. Whereas this allows that because it gives them that stability and that grounding. We'll have more from our Sunday morning extended interview. after this break.
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Well, look, I'd love to be able to do it all myself, but unfortunately I can't. I would if I could. But it would end up with my own family being out on the street. And so that's been actually a real joy is meeting some incredible people along the way who shared our passion and obsession with this and we've managed to do it incredibly quickly so far but we still need a lot of help and I hope that there are viewers out there who will want to join with us and to really make a important impact and difference to these children's lives. You know these are children who have gone through sometimes just horrible trauma and life can be absolutely hideous and can also be absolutely beautiful and joyful and they haven't seen so much of the latter and that's what we need to show them.
We need to show them that people can be trusted, that they can have stability, that we want to help them through whatever trauma they're going through, the pain, through the anger that they have, that no matter what they do we love them and we're going to be there for them. That's beautiful, and you kind of answered my next question, but I'll just phrase it a different way. Let's say you're pitching Leonardo DiCaprio and donating money. What do you say to him? You know, he's a guy with a big heart.
You don't need to do much of a pitch. I just kind of describe what we're doing and he said, I'm in. Yeah. Yeah. Um You call this an obsession?
You know, you're known as an actor who's rather intense about his roles. Have you approached this with the same intensity? More so. More so. Because this is something that when.
You know, I'm closing my eyes for the last time. I want to look and say, you know, obviously my family, I want to be thinking about them. I want to think about did I do some good? Did I make any changes in the world that were useful? And this will be one of the things that I'll be most proud of when I, you know, draw my last breath.
What other things were you naive about aside from the timeline? Um Almost everything, you know. I had this sort of notion that we could just go buy a meadow somewhere and build a barn, and these kids would be delighted and happy and have horses and sing and dance and whatnot. And then wonderful gentleman, Tim McCormick, who you're going to meet in a minute, who's sort of been my guru throughout all of this, he created three very similar villages out in Chicago very successfully. And who told me, Yeah, think a little bit more deeply than that, Christian.
You know, these children have to age out at 21, they have to be a part of the community, they have to know how to live in society.
So it needs to be more central. You know, it can't be quite as idyllic and short-sighted as my vision was. And so I went about educating myself with that, traveling to Illinois to see the villages that Tim had created and understanding what was necessary, which is, of course, like a complete holistic outlook and providing from birth through to the age of. 21 and beyond that. uh uh uh for these uh children and then uh adults.
You've been acting since you were 13 and I think some people might look at that and think that's your calling. But Maybe it's more than that?
Well, I think I think that um I I think that you know the the through me Doing acting, and then totally surprising to myself, actually. Having people hire me and then somehow making a bit of money, which I never expected, but finding myself fortunate enough to look beyond my own inner circle of loved ones and say, Well, I think I can actually help other people as well. And so, it all stems from that.
So, I'm incredibly grateful for that. And you wouldn't be talking to me if it wasn't for that. I wouldn't have been able to get this off the ground.
So, it's just something that I looked and said, Well, if I can do something more, then I want this to be it. Yeah, it's interesting because it seems like you're not entirely comfortable with that movie star title. No, not at all, yeah. But It's worth doing it for something like this.
So does this make it a little more palatable? Absolutely, yeah, yeah. No, I'm so grateful that I get to be able to kickstart this. But I'm only kick-starting it, you know. There's so many wonderful people involved.
It really is a village, as we call it. And I couldn't have done it without all of them, whether it be the donors or the experts, the councilmen and women in Palmdale, Catherine Barger, so many incredible people that I've met along the way who it's just wonderful to meet good-hearted people who really want to do good. And hopefully, you know, we'll get some more people joining us with that through this program. Wonderful. You said you wanted your family to be involved too?
Yeah, it was very much about that. That, you know, it's great to be fortunate enough to be able to write checks to charities and know that somewhere distant you're helping people. But I just felt like when I discovered the need right here in LA County, that I wanted something that felt more tangible, more local, and we could actually see the results, you know. And we live a fortunate life. I want my children to be able to walk anywhere on the earth and to hopefully come and be able to make friends with the kids who are going to be here and just really walk the walk and see what it's like to do something meaningful, soulful and useful for other people.
What a great gift to give them as a dad. Hope so, yeah. I'm Jane Pauley. Thank you for listening. And for more of our extended interviews, follow and listen to Sunday Morning on the free Odyssey app.
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Someone is trying to frame us. Until our names are clear. We're fugitives from Interval. Like Bonnie and Clyde with better snacks. Espionage, you still as good a shot as you used to be?
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I'm Dexter Morgan. I've been through hell, but now I'm back for my curtain call. And what better place to hide than New York City? There may be a new area code. But my code never changes.
In a city full of monsters. My dark urges. We'll feel right at home. Dexter Resurrection, starring Michael C. Hall, Uma Thurman, and Peter Dinklage.
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