Hannah, age 20, shared her foster care and adoption story at Raise the Future's Heart Gallery Celebration at the Utah State Capitol during National Adoption Month 2022.

I entered foster care on January 8, 2017. I spent 5 years in foster care. During that time, I experienced a lot of change and a lot of loss. I had multiple placement changes, multiple school changes, and staying in contact with people that mattered was hard. Because of changes that happened so often, I never thought I would graduate high school.

For a long time, I struggled with motivation and a belief in myself that I could do it. I was lucky enough to have teachers and a supportive team that continued to encourage me and believe in me. This allowed me to decide to use the resources I had to better my future. I started going to study hall, staying after school for help, and working on things at home.

At first, I was going through the motions of life for other people. But doing that led to me believing in myself, and I decided to do these things for me. I had to rely on others around me at times to care about me and my future because I was not in a place to do that myself. But because of all their support, I now am able to care for myself. I am still working on things, but I have come a long way. And I feel that this is because of all the people who decided to show up for me. These people include my caseworkers Kyle, Hunter, Calista, and Heather, my other supports Nettie, Andrea, John, and Ammon, my GAL Michelle, and even Judge Neil. But most importantly, my Aunt Chris and Uncle Mike, who adopted me on August 18, 2022.

These people have continually shown up for me, even when I did not want them to. I tried everything I could think of to push them all away. But they kept coming back. And I am so grateful that they did. Now that I am no longer in foster care, I still have people I can go to anytime I have a problem or need help. I feel lucky for that. I have the support I need to help me make decisions and care for myself. I now have a job and am doing things that I never thought I would be. If nothing else, I hope this gives hope to others that good things can come from hard circumstances. Don’t give up on yourself!