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Hannah Hair

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Hannah Hair

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Hannah Hair

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My name is Brooke Cromer, and I'm 12 years old. I'm currently in foster care and I've been here for a little more than a year now after being taken from my "mom". Today, I'm going to tell my story and I'm asking you to tell me one thing. Do I have a chance?

I was taken when I was 11 because my mother hit me...a lot. After my father left when I was 4, mother got into drinking and she'd beat me up because I looked so much like him. She would tell me how worthless and awful and what a burden I was to her. How could that have been my fault?

The neighbors called the police after I came outside one day to play with their daughter when:

1. I hadn't been in school for weeks

2. I was covered in bruises

The neighbors reported that they thought we had moved because they hadn't seen us outside in so long, but we were right inside the whole time.

After the police came for me, the took me to A Child's One Need foster care and they told me that I would be treated better here. They were so wrong. I sleep in the hallways most nights and the workers get frustrated with me because I wet the bed nearly every night. If I didn't, I probably wouldn't ever get a change of clothes.

I almost never go to school. The foster people don't really enforce us actually going. As long as you get on the bus in the morning, they've done their job. I don't understand much in school which is why I first started sneaking out. All the algebra and biology doesn't make sense to me. So, I don't go.

I make money when I'm not in school. I run bags of...stuff... to and from people. I've heard these people I work for are dangerous, but they aren't that bad. I get 20% of the profits these people make as long as I don't get caught.

I've heard I'll never get far without an education, but I think I'm doing alright. I've been told I'll never graduate and have a 60% chance of being taken to jail (Eckholm). I've also seen stats that say I have a 600% chance of getting pregnant before I'm 21 (Nunn). All I want is to be told that I can make my own future, and that I'm not just a statistic.

I don't want to be in foster care, they don't care about me. So, do I have a chance?

Love,

Brooke Cromer

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My name is Brooke Cromer, and I'm 12 years old. I'm currently in foster care and I've been here for a little more than a year now after being taken from my "mom". Today, I'm going to tell my story and I'm asking you to tell me one thing.

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Hannah Hair

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Design and share beautiful flyers just like this one!

Spread the word with an online flyer. They're easy to make and impossible to mess up :)

Dear Brooke,

Absolutely you have a chance, Brooke, but whether you will succeed or not will be entirely up to you. You've been through so much, and I know it's hard for you because of the emotional trauma your parents have caused you, but don't be afraid to form relationships with people. I'm a foster parent and my children, when they first came to us, were absolutely terrified of my husband and I. They were distant from us for months. It took a while, but once we gained their trust, we saw them grow and become the happy, successful people they are today.

I know foster care doesn't treat you well. My kids told me the same things about the system. They even wet their beds too. But, Brooke, you need to stay in school and graduate, because foster care will send you out on your own after you're 18 and without anyone to rely on and no diploma, where will you go? Those people you meet on the streets won't help you. They're drug peddlers. Do you hear me, Brooke? DRUG peddlers. You were already abused by your parents, don't let your friends abuse you too.

Have hope, Brooke. Hold out for a family that will love and take care of you. The system is not final and they don't determine your future or who you are. You determine your own future.

Less than 10% of foster children graduate with a college degree (McCaffrey), but those who do finish their education become successful people and successful parents. You decide which side of the statistic you want to fall on.

Sincerely,

Laura

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Design and share beautiful flyers just like this one! Spread the word with an online flyer. They're easy to make and impossible to mess up :) Absolutely you have a chance, Brooke, but whether you will succeed or not will be entirely up to you.

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Hannah Hair

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Read, write, discover, and share the books you'll always remember.

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Hannah Hair

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Caroline's diary by hh10163 on Storybird

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Read, write, discover, and share the books you'll always remember.

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Hannah Hair

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Hannah Hair