Children in the foster care system deal with heartbreaking challenges every day.
In many cases, they have come from uncertainty and instability, and they don't know what lies ahead.
That's why one foster care wish list written by a little boy in the system tugs so strongly at our heartstrings.
The note, published by the advocacy group Dreamcatchers for Abused Children, was written by an unknown little one in foster care in Oklahoma.
It outlines all of the challenging ups and downs of life so far, and expresses what the kiddo hopes for in future foster homes, and in a forever family.
Like the note a boy with autism wrote to his teacher, the wish list reveals a lot of the internal struggles and traumas kids would rather not tell grown-ups about. This is especially true if the grown-ups in their life haven't historically been trustworthy.
Wherever this unknown child is, we're sending our love. Scroll through below to read the powerful words on the foster care wish list.
Learn more about Dreamcatchers for Abused Children.
Dreamcatchers for Abused Children first posted the foster care wish list online back in July of 2015, but the words it contains are as relevant and important as ever.
Alongside a photocopy of the note, the group writes, "This is a wish list from an Oklahoma foster child…..When we think of how bad we have things, we MUST always remember the children who have nothing. Who NEED us."
The image and words made major waves on social media, shared hundreds of thousands of times to spread the powerful handwritten message of a child.
The note itself may be disturbing for some readers. It contains descriptions of abuse.
It reads:
Things I want in my family.
I want food and water.
Don't hit on me.
A house with running water and lights.
I want love.
Mom and Dad don't fight.
I want no drugs.
Don't kill my pets.
Help with school.
Nice clean clothes.
No lice. No bug in house.
Clean house. Clean bed with covers.
Don't sell my toys.
Treated fair.
Don't get drunk.
TV in house.
Let me keep my games.
School stuff.
Nice shoes.
My own comb.
Soap.
Nice house and safe.
AC and heater.
Coat.
Toothbrush.
The words are a truly heartbreaking reality check.
Most of us have never been in foster care and don't fully appreciate the incredible complexities of the system as it currently stands.
There are many, many wonderful foster parents out there, but there are bad apples too. Some children travel through one abusive situation after another for years.
Meanwhile, caseworks have huge numbers of kids to look out for. Even the most dedicated and loving worker can't possible keep track of dozens of different cases at once.
That's why it's so important for all of us to do what we can to support kids in foster care, who have often been traveling from one difficult situation to another for years, sometimes for their whole lives.
That's why it's so important to keep cheering on the loving foster parents, the diligent caseworkers, and the organizations that support them.
If you can donate time or money to organizations like CASA and other advocacy groups like Dreamcatchers, you can help make the world a little bit better for kids in the foster system.
With a little luck and a lot of hard work, we can all do our bit to help turn heartbreaking wish lists into heartwarming adoption stories, of kids finding parents who will love them, always and forever.
If you want to learn more about helping kids in the foster system, you can learn more at CASA, Together We Rise, and lots of other organizations all over the country. To help kids in abusive situations, learn more at Dreamcatchers.
If you want to spread the word and help kids in foster care, be sure to SHARE this sweet child's important message.
