AUSTIN, Texas — Being able to call one place home is something that Jorden has never truly known. At 17 years old, she's been in foster care for six years after entering the system when she was 11.
But even before that, she grew up in a military family.
"It's like being a kid that no one wants. It feels like abandonment," Jorden said. "So when we do get [to the] teenager years, and it's like we are getting closer to being a young adult and we still haven't got adopted, it's like we don’t even know what to believe in."
Right now, Jorden is a junior in high school. She's currently staying in a hotel until another placement is found for her.
In about six months, she will turn 18 and age out of the system.
"I don’t know. It’s just kind of like my hopes have gone down," Jorden said.
One thing that helps her keep peace of mind is baking.
"You've got to find coping skills when you get stressed because life is not going to be perfect," Jorden said.
Penny Lane from Royal Penny Bakery spent some quality time with Jorden teaching her how to decorate cookies inside the Poppy Avenue Boutique in Leander. Lane started hosting bakery classes to cheer up her friends and add some positivity to people's lives.
"Just like Bob Ross says, 'There's no such thing as mistakes, but happy little accidents,'" Lane said. "It's just an outlet to kind of let everything else go."
Jorden said she wants to be a social worker someday and help other children who are experiencing the same thing she is.
“Even if I don’t get adopted, because I do turn 18 in six months ... I can still be a social worker," she said. "I’m showing everyone that just because you didn’t get adopted, doesn't mean it affects who you are."
To learn more about Jorden or to put in an inquiry to adopt her, visit her page on the Heart Gallery of Central Texas.
KVUE launched the Forever Families segment with Partnerships for Children (PFC) in June 2020 to highlight children in the Heart Gallery of Central Texas who need secure and permanent families. Every day, there are nearly 1,000 children waiting to get adopted in Central Texas, according to PFC.
Editor's note: The children who are in the Heart Gallery program and featured in KVUE's Forever Families segments are children who have had every effort made on their behalf to connect them with family or others in their community to provide options for permanent, adoptive homes. Through no fault of their own, that hasn’t happened yet, and so in partnership with the Department of Family and Protective Services, we collaborate to bring awareness to KVUE viewers about these children in the hopes of finding them permanency before they age out.