Counting On Us

Episode 1: Pursing Your Passion Meet Keya. After foster care, Keya entered college but soon dropped out once it became clear the career she chose wasn’t the right fit for her. With few people to turn to, she felt scared and unsure of what steps to take to support herself;

Episode 2: The Power of Relationships Meet Arthur. At age 15, Arthur’s aunt dropped him off at ACH’s Pat O’Neal Youth Emergency Shelter. To him it felt like his family betrayed him. So much so, he refused to return home and chose to enter the foster care system instead. After

Episode 3: Building a Family Meet the Sidwells. Brian and Yesenia Sidwell always wanted a big family, but they felt uncertain foster care and adoption was the right path for them. Everything changed on Mother’s Day, when ACH came to their church and gave them the information they needed to

Episode 4: Healing Through Reparenting Meet the Hackemacks. Mike and Lane Hackemack knew they wanted to pursue adoption. Both grew up in very close families where adoptive friends and cousins were the norm. So after their daughter was born, they started to look at agencies that were the right fit

Episode 5: A Family’s Legacy Meet Semi. Since she could remember, Semi’s parents were addicted to drugs and alcohol. The pressure of being the sole caregiver for her four younger siblings was overwhelming. Relief finally came once Child Protective Services intervened and placed Semi and her siblings in one of

Episode 6: New World, New Perspective Meet Julie. Julie grew up living life in survival mode, there were no doctor appointments, no birthday parties, and food was scarce. As much as her mother wanted to provide for her children, she couldn’t. So when Julie was just shy of 5 years

Episode 7: Learning to Let Go Meet Margie. As a child, Margie Walker was raised by her grandparents. They didn’t have much, but Margie always knew she was loved. Then, when she was 81 years old, Margie became the sole caregiver for her great grandson, Drayven. It was a decision

Episode 8: The Right Support Transforms Care Meet Arquilla. For the past 44 years, Arquilla Walker has raised nine children, eight of them from the same family, and none of them related to her by blood. Along the way, Ms. Walker sacrificed a marriage, a career, and an engagement. Now

Episode 9: Practicing Hope Through Patience Meet Tabitha. By the time Tabitha was 14 years old, she had entered the foster care system for the third time. Born with a visual impairment, she never felt understood or respected after years of moving from one home to the next. It was

Episode 10: Creating Space for Youth Voice Meet Peaches. While Peaches experienced a loving home in her younger years, as a teenager her life was filled with housing instability and abuse. Starting at 15, her grandmother would lock her in her room for days at a time, without food. Later,

Episode 11: Discovering Your Inner Strength Meet Alex. Alex will always remember caring for her five younger brothers. Whenever her parents were away, it was up to her to bathe, feed, and change their diapers. Once they became homeless, the mental and emotional trauma only got worse. Alex’s life changed

Episode 12: Knowing When to Ask for Help Meet Jeremiah. Jeremiah never really had a room of his own. Growing up, it was just him and his mother moving from one apartment to the next. When he ran away and became homeless, Jeremiah was uncertain what his future would look