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Lessons
Learned Through Adversity
For One College Student Who Grew Up Without Permanency, Realizing Her Dreams Means There's No Turning Back  BY YATECCA LOFTON I was brought into the foster care system at age nine. I remember it so clearly. My mother left one of my brothers and me at my handicapped grandmother's home. My maternal grandmother took care of us for two weeks with no word from my mother as to when she was coming back for us. I was the oldest and knew what was going on, so my grandmother explained to me that she was becoming unable to care for us any longer, and since she was on dialysis there was no one home to care for us during the day. My grandmother said the only other option we had was to go into foster care and that she would do her best to try and re-gain custody of us through the state. At 9 years old I was about to make a decision that would not only affect my life but the lives of my other siblings. I didn't know what to do so I chose to go into foster care and the next day the Dougherty County Department of Family and Children Services came for my brother and me. When they took us from my grandmother we cried and hid behind my grandmother's wheelchair but we were taken away and placed in a foster home. There are seven of us but only five of us entered care, so gradually more of us started to enter foster care. When I turned 18 I aged-out. As an adolescent I was very angry and out of control because I wanted my mother to love and rescue me from the strangers I had grown to know as my caregivers. My siblings and I were tossed from foster home to foster home and then the state separated us hoping our behavior would improve. Our behavior didn't improve; in fact it got worse because all we wanted was to be with our biological families. As I got older I started to look at the positive side of growing up in foster care because I know that God allows everything out of your control to happen for a reason. However, my oldest brother wasn't able to cope with our situation as well. He wanted to fight against the system that was set up to help him but had consequently failed him. That decision at age 15 will cost him 13 years in the state prison system. As I ponder over at my brother's situation I am deeply saddened because all he wanted was hug, to hear the words "I love you," and to have a chance to live the normal childhood he was robbed of. As for me, growing up in the foster care system helped me to appreciate family and quality time with loved ones. My parents' irresponsible behavior helped me to see what life would be like if you drop out of school, have several kids, and waste your life away. As a result, I don't have any kids now, and I'm a senior at Georgia State University. I'm setting a positive example for my younger siblings, I have custody of two of my brothers and I'm working on getting the others. I'm focused in school and will not allow the obstacles in my life stop me from following my dream because I know where I came from and don't want to go back. Growing up in the foster care system allowed me to learn that I need to work to reconstruct the juvenile justice system. Therefore, once I receive a law degree I will work as a Juvenile Justice attorney and youth advocate. I took all the negative things that happened to me while growing up in the foster care system and turned them into positive things that could help someone else have an easier journey through the foster care system. Through my advocacy I have spoken with several judges, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) workers as well as Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) workers about the importance of sibling visitation in the foster care system. Additionally, several attorneys that work on the Georgia's Appleseed Project have interviewed me about my experiences with the Georgia Juvenile Justice system. My responses were used to help rewrite Georgia Juvenile Justice code. I know that my past does not and will not determine my destiny.
Learn about DFCS Learn about Georgia's Appleseed Project |
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