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Crosscurrents

From foster care to motherhood: a radio diary

Cornelia Banks
Jakeri Bawcum

 

Jakeri Bawcum was just five days old when she was placed in foster care. Her childhood and adolescence was tough.

<--break->She shuffled between foster homes, watched her mom go on and off drugs, even spent some time in the juvenile justice system. As a young adult, she turned her life around. Now, at 22, she’s in college, and pregnant, and Jakeri is determined to make a better life for her baby than the one she had. Jakeri has found support at First Place for Youth, an organization that helps current and past foster kids. There she has access to counselors specializing in youth advocacy, education and employment. To capture this moment, KALW’s Jeremy Jue gave Jakeri a recorder near the end of her pregnancy. Here’s the radio diary they created.

"I feel like I'm going to become overwhelmed at times, but nothing in life comes easy — especially when you want something that's worth having."

Credit Jakeir Bawcum
Jakeri’s baby girl, Lai’la

    

Click the audio player above to hear the full story.   

 

Crosscurrents