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Tag: foster youth

Lily’s Story

I lived with my dad until I was five. He loved me a lot but couldn’t take care of me. He was out of work because he had an injury. Sometimes he bought beer and drugs instead of food. The heater in our house was broken…

Answers to Common Questions

CLC has also developed helpful information for people of all ages to understand their rights and legal options in different situations.

Darius & Harvey’s Story

Darius and Harvey are brothers who were removed from their mother’s care after she was arrested for illegal drug use. The boys were eight and nine years old. While in care, the boys were separated and sent to different placements. Darius and Harvey were lucky enough to be placed in the home of relatives, Harvey with his father and Darius with an aunt. However, family friction between the father and aunt strained regular communication between the brothers. CLC was appointed to represent Darius to advocate for him and his impending adoption by the aunt.

Isabelle’s Story: As Told by Her Volunteer Attorney

Her sobbing plea haunted me: “Get me out of here!” Isabelle was just barely 12 years old and loved her school. She played the violin in the orchestra and was doing very well in her classes but she was also a cutter. “Cutting” is a form of self-harm without suicidal intent. Following a cutting incident, Isabelle was expelled from her group home and placed in a juvenile detention center…

Jasmine’s Story

12.6.2010
Jasmine came to the United States as a refugee from Africa. Much about her early life is unknown but she was a young child when she arrived. For many years she was living an unstable and uncertain life in a new country with an older cousin who was verbally and physically abusive. As a young teen…

Evan’s Story

11.12.2010
Evan has been through more in his short life than most of us will endure in a lifetime. Born into a country on the brink of civil war, many details of Evan’s life are unclear or unknown. He was born in the Cote d’Ivoire, Africa, to parents that fled the

Steve’s Story

As a child, Steve lived with his Mom and her boyfriend who was a pimp and drug dealer. Mom’s boyfriend routinely beat the heck out of Steve and his mother. Steve was forced to watch as the boyfriend murdered a rival drug dealer. Even then Steve lived with his mother till she died of an illness when he was 11. Child Protection placed Steve in the care of his father who had remarried. The stepmother hated him and abused him. Eventually, his father kicked him out of the house and he ended up on the streets.

Eli’s Story

9.8.10
My name is Eli. I used to live with my mom. She and her boyfriend would beat my brother Antonio and me with golf clubs and extension cords and then keep us home from school so no one would see the bruises. She’d be watching TV or cooking and then something would just set her off. Sometimes her boyfriend would hold us down while mom hit us. For fun he’d throw my little brother across the room and laugh about it.

The cops came once to bust mom for weed. They noticed we were pretty bruised so they took us to the hospital for a few days.

Resources for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

CLC has developed a comprehensive resource guide for youth experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness. This guidebook contains information about the various organizations that provide services for youth, including legal services, shelter, housing, medical services, clothing, food, mental health services, and advocacy.

Adamma’s Story

8.10.2010
My name is Adamma, and I was adopted from Eastern Africa with my three younger sisters in 2005. I loved attending school, and I received all A’s that first year of my adoption. I even started looking at college brochures. My sisters joined soccer teams and we made lots of friends in the neighborhood and at our church. We were getting excited about our futures, until everything changed.