Audrey Kuo says drink water 🇵🇸

Anonymous My twin sister and I aged out of foster care on the same day at eighteen which sounds like it should mean we had each other and therefore were fine. What it actually means is that two people with nothing faced a system that considers its job complete the moment the clock runs out and wishes you well with the particular indifference of paperwork. We had a social worker named Miss Charlene who was not assigned to us anymore the day we turned eighteen. Her caseload moved on and technically so should she have. She did not move on. Showed up at the group home on our birthday with a cake and two folders. Inside each folder was everything she had spent three months quietly assembling. Apartment listings she had called ahead about. Bus routes to the community college. A list of employers who had hired former foster youth and treated them decently. Phone numbers with names attached and notes about who to ask for. She sat with us for four hours that afternoon going through every page... Then she wrote her personal cell number on the inside cover of both folders and said use it. We used it. Many times. More than we probably should have. She answered every time. My sister is a registered nurse now. I run a mentorship program for youth aging out of foster care. Miss Charlene came to both of our graduations. Front row. Same smile both times.