When I transitioned out of the institution of Foster Care into homelessness in Evansville, IN, at the age of 16, I struggled to find housing and services for me and my infant son. I was terrified. I had no family, no relatives and no one that I could turn to for help and guidance. I knew absolutely nothing about being a parent. The only thing I did know was that I didn’t want my son to grow up in foster care.
I entered foster care as a newborn infant, because I was born addicted to Heroine. I spent my entire young life, from birth to the age of 16, in and out of fifteen different foster homes, group homes and two Orphanages. I hated that life. I hated the constant moving around, the changing faces and never knowing where I was going to end up.
I was beaten with shoes, fists, heated extension cords and burned with cigars. I was even beaten, once, with a rose bush with the thorns still attached. The revolving door of Social Workers compounded my hell, because none of them were equipped to deal with the realities and needs of a black foster child. Homes, for black foster kids back then, were few and far between. The few that were available were Orphanages. It’s hard to call a foster home a home when there are 16-20 kids living in deplorable conditions and sleeping on mats and mattresses on the floor. That was the Orphanage in Reed, KY. I don’t wear shorts and don’t own a dress, because of the scars that cover my body.
Foster Care In The U.S. Inc.
Founder/CEO
Jessica Angelique
Because of the torture and abuse, I started running away from my foster homes and was soon labeled a “problem child” by the Department of Child Services. I was promptly, heavily, medicated so that my foster parents could “manage my unruly and unpredictable” behavior. All the medication did was make it easier for them to abuse me. It’s hard to fight back when you can’t move your arms or legs or scream because of the mood-stabilizing, mind-altering medications that the doctor prescribed to “curb” my behavior. So, I quit taking the medication. Sometimes that worked, other times it was forced down my throat.
I won some battles, lost others. When I finally transitioned out of foster care into homelessness I realized that I had to make it or else they would come and take my son from me. We were homeless for several years, until I turned eighteen. A friend of mine signed her name to my lease so that I could get my first apartment. Every month, for six months, I handed her the money for my rent and we both went and paid it. At the end of the six months, the apartment complex allowed her to remove her name from my lease, and that is how I got my first apartment. She co-signed, because I had no credit.
Once I had housing and steady employment, I went back and began helping those who helped me and my son with what I could when I could. I took on a third job where I worked about 8-12 hours a week. That money was used solely to provide financial assistance to youth who called me seeking help with their rent, pager bills, electric bills, food and everything in between. Eventually, their friends began calling me and asking me for help. I started to keep a list of all the things that they asked me for, but which I was unable to find in the area or surrounding community. That same list, curated some 40-years ago, became the basis and foundation for the services and resources that my organization offers today.
That is how we, Foster Care In The U.S. Inc., came to be. I have been providing services and financial assistance for some 40 years to 7,000+ homeless and struggling children and youth. This is my calling, or ministry if you will. Foster Care In The U.S. Inc., is a 501(c)3 Public Charity whose mission is to end youth homelessness in the communites where we serve and operate.
Please support our grass-roots organization as we work to put an end to childhood poverty and youth homelessness.
About Us
Service Area
Vanderburgh County
Warrick & Spencer
Posey County, IN
Gibson County, IN
Henderson, Ky