As I was about to turn myself in I was thinking I need to get a drink one more time. It seemed like the right thing to do. So I headed for the store, but I was not old enough, so I had to have someone to buy it for me. I was standing outside the store waiting for someone to come up. It seemed like it was taking forever! Then it finally had happened! A man walked up to me. He looked like he was already drunk. I gave him my money anyway. He then went into the store and came out with three bottles of wine. I gave him one, I drank one, and we drank one together. I was so drunk so I headed for the police station. I got to the police station and the police looked at me and said, “Can I help you?” I said, “I need to turn my self in.” I told him I am a runway. He asked me what he should do about it. I told him I am turning myself in!? He was acting like he didn’t want to arrest me. As I kept on talking, he realized that I was drunk! So he arrested me for being drunk, not for being a runaway. I was waiting for a juvenile officer. He was finally there. He took me in to custody. He took me to lock-up this time. I was hoping that I would be in there a long time. I only stayed about two weeks.
They found me a foster home. I couldn’t believe it! It was not in Chicago. It was still in Illinois. I asked my caseworker what were they thinking taking me out of Chicago! I had to go anyway. I really didn’t want to go but I had to. My case-worker took me to the airport. I was on my way to another city. I really didn’t want to go, but I made it to the airport. I then boarded the plane. It only took one hour to get to Quincy, Illinois. My caseworker and I meet someone at the airport. She seem like she was really nice. She took us to this big house. I went in and it looks even bigger on the inside. When we went to the office she started to tell me all about this place. She said it was a group home and I had no idea what a group home was. She explained there were girls my age there. Some girls were older then me, some younger than me. She said that I would like it.So I signed one paper stating that I would give it one month. And if I didn’t like it in one month I could go back to Chicago.
There were twenty-five girls there. Out of twenty-five girls I only liked three. They showed me how things were run the first few weeks. It was hell. I hated it, but the closer I get to my friend the month was all most up. So at the end of my month I called my case-worker and told her that I wanted to go. She said there was no way that she was bringing me back to Chicago. I felt lied to. Hurt and knew one to turn to.
The staff was no help. A different staff person every day. One might be a regular. They never talked to us girls. There was fight every day. It didn’t matter, it was like if they had thrown us all together. No one wanted to be bothered with us.
I lived like this for two years. One night I heard a noise. My friends were not in the bed. I looked for them all over the house. I didn’t ask anyone. I just sat there on the side of my bed .A hour had passed. I heard a noise. It was the window. It was my friends. They had come back. I jumped up to them. “Where have you guy been?” They told me that they had to get out and make some money. I realized that they weren’t getting a box from their families every month like me. They never got anything. My mother would send me clothes and money. I was thinking that I was lucky. But as I thought about it, my mother and my father really wanted me. I asked to go back home. But I was told no.
