peter
“After my dad committed suicide and my younger sister passed away, my mother’s already unbalanced mental health broke down and her addiction took a stronghold of her. I was taken from her because she could not care for me properly. Allegedly, I was found many occasion in our apartment block’s corridor crawling around, alone, at one-and-a-half while she left to feed her addiction. From the time I was taken from her, I had a lot of short-term placements and I only met my foster parents at the age of six. I often felt like the odd one out. I had a different second name and I didn’t look like anyone in the family. Some people would point and say: ‘Ah, look there he is, he’s the fostered one!’ It never occurred to them that they were putting a label on me by letting everyone know that I was the black sheep. When I was 18, I moved into transitional housing with other care leavers. That was the first time I realised I’m not the only one. After, I lived another three years in homeless accommodation before I finally got my own flat. That was when everything started to get a little better. During that time, my after-care worker put me in touch with EPIC. They welcomed me with open arms and gave me a trainee project worker role, so there I was, working with and for black sheep just like me.”
This post was highlighted by EPIC. Show your support for Care Day on the 16th of February by using #CareDay18 Find out more here: http://www.epiconline.ie/