At 19, Fatu’s future looks bright. She plans to go to Monroe College in the fall to follow her dream of becoming a lawyer. She’s currently going to school and working full-time as a paralegal at Queens Defenders, which provides free services to low-income people. Not long ago, she was a recipient of those services.
You see, the future did not always look so bright for Fatu. When she came to live in one of SCO’s residences for youth in foster care in 2018, she had had a difficult childhood, and she’d been in trouble with the law.
When Fatu was 12, her mother returned to their native Liberia with her younger brother, leaving Fatu with an abusive family friend in Queens. She eventually ran away, joined a gang and got into trouble.
When she first came to SCO, Fatu was confrontational with staff and other residents. But despite her rocky start at her new home, SCO staff has been behind her since day one. They encouraged her to further her education and pursue her GED. They showed her the right way to do things, and most of all, they showed her they cared.
Fatu’s former Queens Defenders lawyer, Anthony Martone, played a pivotal role in her turnaround. He saw her potential and went the extra mile to help her by initiating an internship program at the firm for past clients who’ve been through the juvenile justice system. Fatu was the first intern and became the first full-time hire from the program.
Fatu is positive, respectful, and focused. She loves her job and it has inspired her to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice.
Her turnaround has been nothing short of miraculous, and it serves as an inspiration to other youth. Fatu is living proof of what is possible with a positive attitude, hard work, perseverance, and the help of caring adults who never stop believing in you.
See Fatu’s story in THE CITY.
(Photo: Ben Fractenberg-THE CITY)
The call came on a Tuesday.
Brigid, a special education teacher who’d taken in foster children, told SCO she was ready to adopt. After being a temporary mom, helping to strengthen and reunite families, she wanted to build a “forever family” of her own. And then, one day, her phone rang.
“They said, ‘We have a baby who is two months old, and he has nobody,’” she recalls. “And I thought, ‘I’ll be his somebody.’”
Three days later little Noah was in her arms. The first day was intense, but Brigid recalls, “I woke up the next day and looked at him in his crib and thought, ‘This is my kid, and this is meant to be.’”
The legal adoption process would take six years, and SCO was there every step of the way.
“SCO’s adoption unit was really on it, so organized,” Brigid recalls with gratitude. “They were able to explain everything going on in court. It took a long time, and they were like, ‘Let’s stick with it.’”
“Throughout the process SCO was really supportive of his birth mom too. They recognized that she really loved this baby, but that life circumstances meant he wouldn’t be safe there.” So SCO worked hard to support both Noah’s adoptive mother and his birth mother, and to sustain and nourish both relationships.
And then, the big day came. “His adoption court appearance took five minutes, but when they said he was legally my son, it took my breath away.”
Now seven, Noah’s doing great – playing chess, learning French and mastering soccer.
“He’s my world,” Brigid says. “I love being a mom. It’s my favorite thing in the world.”
At 19, Fatu’s future looks bright. She plans to go to Monroe College in the fall to follow her dream of becoming a lawyer. Learn More
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