• With Help, I Made My Own Home 

  by Anonymous

  I first went into foster care when I was 12 years old because my mom abused and neglected me. (My father was mostly not around.) My last placement was at a residential treatment facility called Madonna Heights, where the other girls bullied me.

• Choosing Myself

  by Faith Ornstein

  In 17 years, I’ve had to move more than 10 times throughout New York City. In 3rd grade, I attended five different schools. As a child, I never understood why my family moved around like a military family, but now I know some of the reasons. 

• Life On My Own

  by Bryant A.

  Foster care was a pretty good experience for me. I came into care when I was 15, and was placed with a good foster mother, Blanca, right away. She helped me stay on track, and so did some of my foster care workers.

• I Finally Got an Apartment, but I Still Want to Be Adopted

  by B.A.

  Names have been changed. My parents abused and neglected me, and I went into care when I was 15. I lucked out getting Teresa for a foster mother. She was the first true mother figure I had. Six years later, I am still living with her and she is in the process of adopting me.

• Losing the Most Important Connection

  by Valentina Ferreira

  I recently wrote a YCteen story about how difficult it was for me to reconnect with my mother after being separated from her for so long. We’re originally from Colombia and she came to the United States before me, when I was only 5.

• Not Just a Kid From the Projects

  by Meagan Zullo

  Growing up, I didn’t know that I came from a lower class. Once, I even had a birthday party at a Build-a-Bear workshop! My dad was a superintendent at a movie theater, and we often watched movies there and got popcorn for free.