Growing Up in Foster Care.......... And How it Effects Your Relationships.

I have decided to start sharing in more detail
my experiences of growing up in the
foster care system

I believe these accounts and others like them to be of huge importance if we are ever going to convince the masses that THIS SYSTEM DOESN'T WORK and it MUST be replaced.

The effects of growing up in this system can be, and often are deadly, and if your lucky to survive like I did, then you have a long road ahead before you can start to resemble a functioning human being with capabilities such as being able to love and trust again.

@markwhittam/surviving-foster-care


In my last post about the detrimental effects of growing up in Foster care I told you all about 'The Wall' and how building one, is the only way to counteract being massively let down by society.

The only thing is! once you've built that wall, it becomes much harder to form any kind of relationship whatsoever, even family members are off limits when you have a wall so it's easy to become detached.

As you can imagine, after such a long time of shutting everybody out it starts to have a serious effect on your ability to experience such pleasures as love, true friendship, trust, or any other relationship that requires you to let your guard down, deep inside you are totally isolated but on the surface you just about pass off as normal, in a hectic, messed up world where no one has time to give a fuck, unless their getting paid to do so.

If you look around in any major city or town, it's hard to deny the fact that so many people seem to be on their last legs with not a glimmer of hope in their eye's as they carry all their belongings in a shopping bag, or maybe you don't see them because you've never been there but trust me they are everywhere.

Lost soul's who don't know how to be helped because they have no idea how to bring down that wall, isolated human beings standing right in front of you, and your to busy worrying if their going to rob you instead of reaching out and helping our fellow man in desperate need of help.

I some how made it through foster care, homelessness, drug addiction, gang fights, police sells, courts, hostels, drop in centres, soup kitchens and managed to make something of myself, it was a long hard battle but I pulled it off.

The first time I felt love after all them years was a scary feeling, at first I thought I was having a panic attack or some kind of anxiety, but after a while I realized it was true love.

And although I made it, I still can't rest at ease, knowing that there are so many lost brothers and sisters out there.

I always give to the homeless when I pass because I still see them for what they are, scared, lonely humans with a world full of hurt in their hearts.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article and next time I will be writing about abuse in foster care and care homes.

The point of this series is not to shock, blame or shame, it's to open peoples eye's up to what really happens to children who get lost in the system, It seems so easy for people nowadays to ring the cps, even on family members in the belief that cps will solve the problem and the child will be in safe hands.

With @familyprotection, I, and many other people are coming forward to share their experiences so that the world can start to see what devastation can be caused by removing a child from the care of its parents, please continue to support these stories as I believe we can really make a difference and hopefully start to change peoples trusts and belief in a caring CPS.