Street roots., July 08, 2016, Page 11, Image 11

Street Roots • July 8-14, 2016
Commentary
Page 11
My Life in Foster Care
By Josh Baker
t all started when I was about 9 years old, when my
father and mom got divorced. My mom had drinking
problems so my dad made her go to rehab. She didn’t
mind that, but while she was away, my father started
seeing another woman. When she first started seeing my
father she was the nicest person I had ever m e t That
didn’t last long because about six months later my father
decided to propose to her; at that time I always thought
that it was awesome my best friend would become my
brother.
About three months after my father proposed, my soon-
to-be stepmom and dad went down to tell my mom that
she wasn’t able to come back and that it was time for her
to move on. He was getting married in three months.
From that day forward, my mom would never call or visit
I always thought it was my sister’s and my fault for her
not wanting to come around or that she was too sad to
come around because my dad was getting married. So one
night I asked my father, “When is mommy going to come
and see me?” He never answered me with an actual
reason. He would always make up an excuse so I just
stopped asking after a while.
The next few months before the wedding we were
always busy doing things to get ready, but it was still on
my mind: What ever happened to my mom? At night I
would always look up to the biggest star and ask it, “If you
ever see my mom tell her I miss her.”
The wedding went fast and so did the party. One minute
we were at the wedding, next thing you know it’s over and
I’m in bed wishing that my mom was there to see how
good I looked in fancy clothes. But I already knew that she
wasn’t coming back.
About a year after my stepmom married my dad, she
became very mean to me and my stepsister, always getting
us into trouble for things we didn’t even do like saying bad
words or hitting. That wasn’t even the worst thing that
she did. After months of using little things they started
getting bigger like they started saying I was threatening to
kill my stepsiblings, but the worst lie that she ever used
was when she went around and told my father, the school
and all of my friends’ parents that I was sexually touching
her 7-year-old daughter. I was 10 when she started, and
she kept it up until the day DHS came to the door to take
me away.
Everyone always asked me if I was scared when I left
Yes, I was scared. Who wouldn’t be? Even though my
I
stepmom was making up all these lies about me, I still
didn’t want to leave the comfort of my home to go live
with complete strangers. But at this point DHS wasn’t
asking to remove me - they were demanding i t
The first place I went to was in Hillsboro. It was a
group home so there were a lot of us there. I didn’t know
what to do or say to people so I would always keep to
myself. I was always described as the quiet child who
didn’t talk to anyone. After being there for about three
months, I finished the fifth grade and they moved me to
another placement in Portland. I hated it there. It was one
of the worst placements ever. The lady I was living with
would always yell at me and then go drop me off at her
friend’s house. When she would drop me off there her
friend would always come out and walk around with no
clothes on. She told me that if I ever told someone, she
would beat me to death, so I did what any 12-year-old kid
would do and kept my mouth shut.
After about two weeks of living there, I couldn’t stand it
anymore. I grabbed a bag and threw all of my stuff in it
and left while she was sleeping. It was the first time I had
ever run away in my life. It was hot out, and I was scared.
I was just walking around Killingsworth by myself, hoping
not to be seen by people who were probably looking for
me. So there I was, just walking around a town that I have
never even been in before, alone. So while I was walking, I
had to stop at random small restaurants like Pizza Hut to
get some water. It was really hot out that day. It got up to
97 degrees when we left at around 1:30 that afternoon.
After a while I was so hot that I ended up going to this
retirement home, and told them what had happened;
About 10 minutes after I had arrived, the police showed
up. I told them everything that my foster mom had done
to me in the two weeks I had been there. He sat there and
listened - the first time anyone had ever listened to m e .,,
After I was done explaining to him what had happened, he
told me that I didn’t have to go back there ever again. You
could tell by the way his voice had changed that he was
not happy with her.
After we left the retirement home, he told me that we
were heading to a new home on the other side of town,
and that if I ever had a problem to call him. So I took his
card and when we arrived at the house that I had thought
I had never been to before, but it was never that easy. It
happened to be my previous foster’s good friend. I didn’t
say anything because I knew that if I did they would try
and move me. I was tired and hot and just wanted a good
night’s sleep.
By Glayz Welch
I wonder if you know
That I am doing fine
I usually don’t
Understand why
Why did you leave
After promising so much
Mommy, Mommy, please
I just want one more hug
I know it seems silly,
But no one has asked why
Why it hurts so much
And why I always cry
Because the one thing in this world
I’ve wanted since I was young
Is for my bio mom
To save me from my tongue
I put myself down
I mess my world up
I hate it when I do these things
But I am not done
Mommy, could you tell
That I was hurt so bad?
That no matter what happened
I could not be saved
Unless I put my mind to it
And learned a different way
I won’t be sure until I know
That I will be okay
Consistency is what I need
But it can’t be that way
I miss my family
I miss the way
That we could act
Like it’s okay
Because what I’ve gone by
My whole life
Is
Fake it till you make it
And it’ll be all right