Christian Bale Opens Foster Village Keeping Siblings Together

Christian Bale opens Together California, a Palmdale foster village keeping siblings together.

Christian Bale has opened Together California, a foster care village in Palmdale, California, designed around one central mission: keeping siblings together when they enter the foster system. The facility consists of 12 fully-furnished housing units across 11,000 square feet on a 4.67-acre property purchased in 2022, according to Good News Network. Bale and his wife Sibi began exploring the idea after the birth of their first daughter, when Bale learned that most siblings entering California's foster system — the largest in the country — are separated and grow up 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 opening.

Fans were quick to note the parallel: Bale, who played Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, opened a children's facility much like the orphanage his character launched at the end of those films. According to LADbible, Bale himself admitted he only realized the connection years into the project, saying it wasn't until people pointed it out online that he remembered Bruce Wayne started an orphanage. LADbible also reports the couple donated a reported $22 million into the project, which has been more than a decade in the making, with Leonardo DiCaprio also reportedly chipping in.

The village was entirely funded through donations. LADbible also reports that Bale and his wife donated a reported $22 million to the effort. The project's arrival in Palmdale was credited to Kathryn Barger, Supervisor for Los Angeles County's 5th District, who co-founder and UCLA Professor Eric Esrailian says "embraced this project" and connected the team with Palmdale. Together California Executive Director Tim McCormick described it as "a place where everyone is welcomed, a place that keeps families together, a place that creates community."

Children are expected to begin arriving at Together California next month, according to LADbible. The village includes two studio apartments designated for young people leaving foster care, giving them a bridge into independent living. Bale has said he hopes this village will be "the first of many," urging Californians and Angelenos to open their eyes to what is happening "right under our noses." With LA County having more children in foster care than anywhere else in America, per Good News Network, the project positions itself as a holistic, long-term model — one its founders hope other communities will replicate.