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My Mother raised my sister and I alone. We grew up on public assistance. I watched my Mom work two jobs to provide for us. She always made sure that we had a very clean house despite our neighborhood. I can remember the aroma of bleach and Pinesol.

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I was raised closely in the church. On my 7th birthday my sister & I were both baptized Pentecostal. A few years later in a foster home I was baptized Baptist. As an adult, I returned to my foundation or Apostolic Pentecostal. 

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At the age of 8 years old, I became a foster child. My grandmother could no longer take care of my sister and I. It was too much on her to buy her medications and take care of her 2 grandchildren. She had raised her 5 children and technically, we were not her responsibility.

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At some point in my childhood, my Mother, who was always the perfect Mom, became dependent on alcohol. Prior, my sister & I were straight A, perfect attendance students. It became so bad that my Mother physically abused my sister, which caused our removal from the home. We went to live with our grandmother.

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Neither of my parents fully completed high school. Both earned the G.E.D. My Mother went off to the Army. I am the 1st and only in my family to attend college, graduate with my Associates Degree and continue to pursue my Bachelor’s Degree. Being a foster child from 8-18 years old, I made up my mind that I would become a Social Worker. 