BATH COUNTY, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — An Owingsville tattoo artist is using her own past in foster care to help children across Kentucky feel valued — one suitcase at a time.
Dolores Wainscott, owner of Needle Nonsense, entered foster care at 15 and moved through 20 to 30 families. Each time she left a home, everything she owned went with her in a trash bag.
"That trash bag was my best friend. Because it had everything I had in it. It made me feel like trash," Wainscott said.
She also carried a label familiar to many children who move frequently through the system.
"I was what we foster kids are called the jumper," Wainscott said.
According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, nearly 8,000 children were in foster care in Kentucky in 2024.
Three years ago, Wainscott began collecting suitcases and filling them with toys, hygiene essentials and other items — giving foster children something of their own to carry their belongings in. She hosts donation drives to grow the effort, which has helped about 1,500 foster children.
"I want to change the outlook of foster kids because they are not trash. They're just going through their journey. Their journey just has to have something that makes them who they need to be," Wainscott said.
For Wainscott, the work is a way of transforming a difficult chapter of her life into something meaningful for others.
"I turn a bad experience that something would have sent somebody to drugs or alcohol. I turn that into helping foster kids find a self of themselves," Wainscott said.
Wainscott is currently looking for suitcase donations. They need to be new or gentle used. You can take them to her shop at 23 cedar point Owingsville,KY 40360
She also has a GoFundMe page set up to help fill the suitcases up as well.
Alex Barber is committed to covering stories in your community that matter to you. If you have an idea, reach out to him at alex.barber@wlex.tv
