Roel is a friend who spent most of his childhood in foster care. Before talking to him, I was completely unaware of kids in these situations, and wanted to share to make sure that others get a chance to learn something new. By the way, even the foster mom he loves and adores the most, said that some of the things said in the podcast she was totally unaware of. Yearning to fit in, and not wanting to worry his mom, Roel hasn't shared with her all these years. content warning: the story involves some tragic childhood experiences.
When he was six years old, Roel lost his mom to cancer and ended up in the foster care. Abuse, drugs, physical violence and the entire system that is structured to keep the kids in it, instead of helping them grow, Roel tells is all.
Valuable to hear for the adults that work in the foster care, and most definitely 10x more valuable for the kids, to know they are not alone. If you know someone who should hear this, please share.