Three phone calls, three teenagers politely responding to questions from an inquisitive adult:
What s your favorite class?
Michael: I like choir.
Jesus: I like world history.
Raj-nique: I like orchestra.
Raj-nique plays the viola and enjoys volleyball. Jesus swims the butterfly. Michael plays drums.
When the questions become more personal, their tones don t change.
I ve been in foster care since I was two months old.
I ve been in foster care since I was nine.
I don t remember how many foster homes I ve been in.
It s a tossup as to what is more disconcerting their answers or their matter-of-fact delivery.
Right now, more than 500 Bexar County children spend their childhoods essentially living out of a suitcase. They have no parents andno permanent homes.
What happened -- why a judge decided their parents shouldn t raise them --isn t the story here. What is important to know, according to Raj-nique, is that I m not the mistake. People need to know foster kids didn t do anything wrong. It s not their fault.
In the coming weeks and months, you will meet Raj-nique, Jesus, Michael and many other South Texas kids like them right here on Kens5.com and on KENS 5 TV.
With the generous support of Alamo Toyota, Are You My Family? will explore the lives and challenges faced by some incredible children growing up right here.
The Department of Family and Protective Services, along with school districts, local courts, law enforcement and community non-profit organizations, are all contributing to this effort to inform and educate our community about these children, and to tell you how you can help.
The hope is ultimately that children like Jesus, Michael and Raj-nique don t have to keep paying the price for someone else s mistakes.