By age 14, Gabriel has lost both parents to drug overdoses, leaving him and his 10-year-old sister alone. The Department of Child Safety placed them in a loving and kind foster family. Gabriel and his sister were so afraid that they would be moved to another place or someday split up. Gabriel started to [...]

“I was lonely and got involved with a boy who I thought loved me. I ended up getting pregnant, and my boyfriend ran out as fast as he could. So at 16 I was alone, pregnant, and without any family to help me. My parents were never in my life – they split up [...]

When Nadia’s parents found out she was pregnant, they kicked her out of the house and cut off all ties. For many months, she lacked stability in her life – moving from one friend’s couch to another – but knew that she needed to find a safe and secure place to raise her child. [...]

Izzy, an only child, was blindsided when she was removed from her home by Department of Child Safety after they learned of her mother’s meth abuse – a secret her mother had kept hidden from her. After her mother went to prison, Izzy was placed in foster care. She was the victim of repeated [...]

Throughout his entire life, Diego was surrounded by negativity. He was the victim of constant verbal abuse from his mother, who repeatedly kicked him out of the house and called him names. This unsafe and unstable environment took a toll on Diego’s self-confidence, and he started hanging out with a troublesome crowd. Before he [...]

When her mother told her that she was a financial burden on their family, CeCe felt she had no other choice but to move out. She moved in with her elderly grandmother who, despite providing CeCe with a loving and caring home, suffers from critical health conditions and cannot financially support CeCe. Feeling hopeless, [...]

Audrey’s relationship with her mother had always been tumultuous, especially when it came to matters involving her mother’s boyfriend. She was the victim of constant verbal and emotional abuse and had been kicked out of the house numerous times, causing a lot of scenes in her neighborhood. After the fights and skirmishes had escalated [...]

Amber lived happily with her mother and siblings in another state when tragedy struck:  while she was at school, her mother suffered a heart attack and suddenly passed away. Amber was placed in the custody of her biological father who lived in Arizona and who she did not know very well. Amber felt uncomfortable [...]

“I grew up with a mother whose number one priority was getting high. When I think of my mom, it is with a glass tube held up to her mouth. When I was 10 years old, my grandparents encouraged my mom to sign over guardianship to them. The day my grandparents came to get [...]