Barbara Kingsolver dedicates her novel Demon Copperhead to survivors of the opioid crisis and foster care. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the book is dedicated to someone like me: I am an Appalachian who was put in foster care due, in part, to my father’s opioid addiction.  ..read more

Names have been changed. My father sexually abused me as a child and, a few days shy of my 13th birthday, I entered foster care. When detectives were first assigned to my case, I had to explain the what, when, where, who, and how of the assaults over and over ..read more

In 17 years, I’ve had to move more than 10 times throughout New York City. In 3rd grade, I attended five different schools. As a child, I never understood why my family moved around like a military family, but now I know some of the reasons.  ..read more

On June 1, 2022, Represent magazine and Youth Communication celebrated the outstanding writing, persistence, and achievements of 10 young people at the 24th Annual Awards for Youth in Foster Care. Each winner received a prize of $1,100 and recognition of their writing, resiliency, and service to others.  ..read more

My mom and I fought all my life. Sometimes, she insulted me and used foul language, saying things like, “You’re never going to be sh-t,” or “I should’ve never had you.” On occasion, she hit me. Nothing I did seemed good enough for her, even when I got A’s in school ..read more

I was born in Kentucky and only had about three days with my birth mother before I was put into foster care. While nine months pregnant with me, she had been apprehended by the police and forcibly hospitalized because she was homeless and suffering a psychotic episode ..read more

I am a high school senior in foster care. I have started my college applications and I know I won’t be able to pay every dollar for tuition, room and board, and other essentials. So when my editor at Represent told me about Mayor Adam’s announcement about a college financial assistance program for NYC-based youth in foster care, I wanted to learn more about it.   ..read more