I never thought I would say it, but you must go through something in order to gain experience for your true calling. Going through foster care affected my life by making me stronger. My mom was an alcoholic and heroin addict who would eventually die from her addiction. She would lose track of time and […]

Foster kids know “Imposter Syndrome” better than anyone. New families, schools, dynamics, politics and rules make finding yourself and trusting who you are a near impossibility. We learn to mistrust authority by having parents who couldn’t parent. We learn to question ourselves by having no stable place to explore identities and personas. I learned early […]

I once read a quote that stated, “A strong woman loves, forgives, walks away, lets go, tries again, and perseveres … no matter what life throws at her.” By that definition, I am a strong woman. My mother is also a strong woman, and I love her more than I can fathom, but when she […]

I spent most of my small town Kansas childhood on the fast track to a life destined for failure. My parents were plagued with addiction, and because of that, I was surrounded by drugs, alcohol, and depression at an early age. This created an environment of limits — limited prosperity, limited stimulation and limited expectations. […]

Growing up in foster care can be challenging. It can also be a good thing, as weird as that sounds. Some children come from terrible situations within their biological families and they will be helped in a home where there is love and support; at times foster care can provide more opportunity and a better […]

I still remember the chaotic day when my seven siblings and I went into foster care. My mom left to go drinking, and my 2-year-old brother was locked in the house by himself. The rest of us could not get in. Fire trucks and police cars came, officers broke in and we were taken away. […]

All my life I knew there was a reason for me being in foster care. Maybe this is it, to get my story out there. I was just 18 ½ months old when I was removed from my biological mother and placed in a foster home after neighbors reported that my brother and I were […]

I’m Rodney Humphrey, a 25-year-old man. I spent 17 of my first 20 years in Child Protective Services. While in state care, I experienced my share of ups and downs – some worse than others. I had physically and verbally abusive foster parents. Sometimes my body was bruised by belt buckles. When I was just […]

Be warned: You may finish this article wishing my mom was yours. That’s okay, I can share. In a sense I already do, with scores of youth from Ohio foster care. I guess the first thing I should mention is that my mom herself is a former foster kid. She spent 18 years in the […]

As I reminisce about my past, I remember a child who was lonely and afraid, who longed for a family, but mostly, wanted nothing more than to be loved. I was brought into this world with few options. My parents separated before I was born. My mom fell into drugs, and fell in love with […]