At the age of 13 I started living in the foster care system in Portland, Oregon. The first family I lived with was a Spanish family, the Madrigal's.

The home had a lot of children come and go as it was a 'Shelter Home' or a home where children stayed at until the state determined their status or they were sent to foster homes themselves.

I left their home a year after living with them and in 2008 I visited them on a trip back home.