Written by Sydnie Bell, Youth Connections Advocate

To protect privacy, the names of youth and family members in this story have been changed.

When Noah was seven years old, he saw his grandmother for what would become the last time.

Neither of them knew it would be another 12 years before they would see each other again.

By then, Noah was 19.

In those years, he entered foster care, was adopted at 11, and returned to foster care at 14. Although he stayed in touch with his adoptive parents and still called them "Mom" and "Dad," something was missing.

"He told me many times that he just wanted an adult in his life who loved him unconditionally," said Sydnie, Noah's Youth Connections Advocate.

When Sydnie took over Noah's case, another Raise the Future Youth Connections Advocate had already located his grandmother, Margaret, through a family search and helped reconnect them by phone. But over time, they lost touch.

Then something as ordinary as getting a new phone changed everything.

Noah told Sydnie he had lost all of his contacts, including his grandmother's phone number, and asked if she could help him find her again.

The number they had no longer worked.

So Sydnie started searching.

She conducted an updated family search and sent letters and emails to every contact she could find, hoping one of them would reach Margaret.
A few weeks later, it did.

Margaret emailed Sydnie to say one of the letters had made its way to her through another family member. She had recently moved back to Utah and was thrilled to learn Noah had been trying to find her.

Not long after, Noah walked through her front door.

It had been 12 years since they had seen each other.

They spent hours talking.

Margaret shared stories about Noah's family and told him about relatives he had lost touch with over the years. She also helped reconnect him with his birth mother. Although his birth mother struggles with her health and doesn't remember much anymore, Noah said seeing her was still meaningful and helped him begin healing a part of his life that had been left unanswered for years.

Today, Noah is working toward independent living. He knows he can call his grandmother when he needs someone, and he hopes to continue building relationships with other members of his extended family.
 

For Sydnie, though, the reunion wasn't what stayed with her the most.

It was what happened afterward.

"Over each of the holidays that I've known Noah, he'd never had anywhere to go," she said. "He spent Thanksgiving alone and never knew where he'd be for Christmas or his birthday."

This past holiday season was different.

Noah spent a week with his grandmother.

For the first time in years, he wasn't wondering where he'd celebrate the holidays. He already knew.

Even more meaningful, he now had family to celebrate his birthday with, something many of us rarely stop to think about.

"It's something most of us take for granted," Sydnie said. "Having somewhere to go for the holidays just feels expected. But Noah hadn't had that in a very long time. Seeing him finally experience that meant so much to me because I know how much it meant to him. I'm so happy he has access to a whole family now."

Finding his grandmother didn't erase the years they had lost.

It didn't undo the challenges Noah had faced.

But it gave him something he'd been searching for all along: someone to call, a place to go, and the comfort of knowing he didn't have to face life's next chapter alone.

Sometimes finding your way back isn't about returning to a place.

Sometimes it's about finding the people who remind you that you belong.

Every young person deserves people who stay. If you'd like to learn more about Raise the Future's Youth Connections program or the work behind these stories, we're here to answer questions and share more. Connect with our team