I rolled the meth pipe between my fingers and watched the smoke as it moved toward my lips. I looked around the bathroom I had secretlybeen getting high in despite my enormous eight-and-a-half month pregnant belly. My boyfriend, Mike, had torn all my things off the walls the last time he had beat me in there, and I’d decided to redecorate.
As I climbed on the counter to put up an aquatic … Read More
Last September, at a parent meeting at the Child Welfare Organizing Project (CWOP), I stood and spoke about my son Jacob, who is an infant in foster care. CWOP is an advocacy group for birth parents in New York City, and I attended the meeting after I was falsely accused of abusing Jacob and giving him Shaken Baby Syndrome. Outside of court, it was the first time I’d ever spoken in public about my … Read More
Translated from Spanish
My son Eric, who is 11, has a learning disability that makes it hard for him to stay focused and attentive. His disability affects not only hisschoolwork but also our whole family.
Our family’s long journey to figure out the problem Eric was having began when he was around 8 years old. He had been in a special classes for bright kids in 2nd and 3rd grade, but then he … Read More
The first time in my life that I really felt like belonged somewhere was when I got hired to be a parent advocate at the Seamen’s Society forChildren and Families. Seamen’s was the agency responsible for my youngest son and me when I ended up addicted to drugs and he ended up in foster care for two-and-a-half years.
My agency believed in me, and after I got my son back, it offered … Read More
I’d like to share my story. It’s not easy for me because I hold my privacy to me like a shield. I fear that I will be judged. But what I’m telling is from my heart.
Nine years ago, I lost my older two children to foster care. It took three years for them to come back home. We’re still recovering from the pain of that time.
My story begins with … Read More
