Edward's Story

When do I finally get to stop moving around from foster home to foster home?

I'm happiest that I don't have to move again for awhile. I'm "Edward" and 13 years old.

The state took us all away from my parents after they learned that we didn't go to school and that my parents had problems with drugs and alcohol. I felt guilty about being glad that we moved, because my parents were always yelling and arguing and fighting over money. After the state took us and we were placed in foster homes, my sisters and I moved a lot of times, and we often weren't able to stay together in the same home.

When we were separated, I felt very lonely and angry. As I got older I started getting in trouble and didn't do well in school. Luckily, my caseworker finally placed me in a permanent foster family who took me to Kinship House with them. After a lot of talking, I started to believe that my new family really did understand and believe in me.

I don't live with my siblings at my new foster home, but its permanent and we keep in touch and have visits. I still miss my real parents and hope that someday we can become a family again. But with the help of my new permanent family and my counselors at Kinship House, I try to stay focused on the present and my new life.

The biggest difference I feel from not having to move again soon, is that I finally feel "normal." I never thought that I could be good at anything, but I've made new friends and have made the honor role every term. I finally believe it when my family tells me that "You can do and be anything you want to be!"