Chapter One:
Home

For most people,home is a word that can easily roll off their tongues with little thought given to what the word truly means. We step into this space we callhome, knowing we will be safe and comfortable after a hard day at work, after a long day at school, after a day of running errands, or a day simply spent in this space calledhome where you are free to do whatever it is that brings you peace. Home is a space where you can leave your personal belongings anywhere, knowing they will not be missing when you need them. Home is a place where the people who live there want to have meals together, not separately with their family members. Home is a place where you can fall asleep in your own bed knowing no one will sneak into your room to harm you while you are sleeping.

I have lived in various houses, yet none felt like thehome I had been happiest in when I was seven years old, before my mother suffered a stroke, before my father’s drinking turned our houses into party dens with strangers coming and going, sometimes not leaving until the next day. After I was placed in foster care, I lived with the fear that my father would succeed in convincing the courts to force me to return to him. How could I ever feel safe anywhere my father lived? My two foster placements kept me sheltered and safe from physical harm, but I did not feel a sense of belonging to the family. This feeling of not belonging arose because we foster kids were treated differently; we ate our dinners together after our foster family finished eating together, and when our dinners were finished, we cleaned the kitchen while the foster family retreated to their side of the house into the living areas that were off-limits to us. After our chores were done, we foster kids would retreat to our shared bedrooms to watch television together or to do homework. In foster care, I did not feel I was living in ahome, because it wasn’t my family, and I knew my stay was temporary. I did not feel loved like a family member, but I did feel my foster parents cared about my safety and well-being, which I now recognize is a form of love through kindness. I have eternal gratitude for the Frenette and the Ferguson families who opened up theirhomes to foster kids who needed to be safe. Not only did they keep me safe, but they also showed me how acts of kindness can change lives. I am forever grateful to both families.

What doeshome mean to you?

Blaine Avenue

I am home, lying awake listening to my husband’s breaths, reflecting on those times during my childhood when I cried for, wished for, or prayed for a safe home to live in, a peaceful space surrounded by people I loved. My dream has come true; I’m n