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“I’ve never been more proud of anything in my entire life,” Hannah beams as she describes her new office space. To see her as a successful business owner, confidently sharing her life’s experiences and glowing with joy, you wouldn’t know that this 23-year-old survived a life full of trauma. 

Hannah was left in the hospital by her mother and experienced abuse by her biological father. She and her siblings were placed in foster care after a teacher learned of the abuse and reported it.  

For years, Hannah moved from foster home to foster home, never truly having a family. When she turned 18, she had nothing — no one to turn to, and nowhere to go.  

Nearly 20,000 youth, like Hannah, age out of the foster care system without a permanent family every single year in the United States. These youth are at a higher risk of experiencing unemployment and homelessness. And that’s exactly what happened to Hannah. 

She started living in her car, trying to get odd jobs just to eat. Eventually, Hannah ended up stranded at a rural gas station in Alabama, several states away from where she was staying. Over the years, the only person who stayed connected to her was a former caseworker Mandy. And so that’s who she called … a call that saved her life. 

“I call Mandy. And she’s like, ‘Okay, well, I’m going to call the nearest police, and they’re going to come get you. And then, they’re going to bring you to this hotel, which my parents have paid for.’” 

From that moment on, Hannah’s path to a brighter future began, but she wishes it hadn’t been so difficult. 

After being picked up from that rural gas station, Hannah was introduced to a friend of a friend, Connie, who offered her a safe place to live. Hannah calls Connie, “mom,” and says she is her biggest cheerleader, even helping her figure out how to start her own business. 

“I look back on what I thought my life would be, and I thought I would be in jail or dead. I’m so grateful for the life that I live, but it would’ve never been like this without Mandy and Connie,” said Hannah. “And so, to look at my life now and look at my success, but the very, very rocky road it took me to get here, I am so proud.” 

Hannah has a message for anyone who thinks it’s ok for teenagers to leave foster care without a permanent, loving family. 

“I can wholeheartedly say that if I was adopted, my life would’ve been 10 times better, 10 times easier. The logic in aging out makes no sense. And that’s coming from someone who’s been there, done that.” 

No child deserves to navigate this world alone. You can help by learning about different paths to adopt, including how to adopt from foster care. View our  Step-by-Step Guide to Adoption to get started.