“I ended up 300 miles away. I was homeless, living in survival mode. A year in, strangers approached me and said, ‘We want to take you to school.’ I said yes, not really sure what I was agreeing to. Little did I know they were going to change my life forever.”
‘At 10, I ran away to the bus station. ‘Which goes farthest?’ I had no shoes, one shirt. I needed to find a place where he could never find me. I knew if he got hold of me, my life would be over.’
‘Can you take a 6-month-old baby?’ I knew in my heart he was mine. I remember them being less than kind, staring at my arm. ‘What happened to you?’
“‘If my arm didn’t stop me from being a great mom to my biological child, why would it stop me from being a great foster mom?’ I was advised to give up because of my disability. I was heartbroken and had no rights.”
‘Hey, Grace. A baby girl was abandoned at the hospital. She doesn’t even have a name. Can you come pick her up in an hour?’
“I open the fridge, over and over, to prove to children there is always food. I attend IEP meetings and I advocate for kids. But you know what else I do?”
