YCteen publishes true stories by teens, giving readers insight into the issues that matter most in young people's lives.
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Group Homes (60 found)
Note: These stories are from YCteen and its sister publication, Represent, which is written by and for youth in foster care.
Tiffany is let down repeatedly her whole life. When she's finally adopted, she can't control her anger until she spends several years in good group homes. (full text)
When a fellow resident ages out into homelessness, Michael resolves to make a plan for himself. (full text)
Rejected by her mother, Donalay finally finds acceptance at a GLBTQ group home. (full text)
When a group home staff shows genuine interest in him, Marcus is inspired to start planning for his future. (full text)
Miguel is constantly bullied by the other residents in his group home. He longs for the love and security of a foster home. (full text)
Anne, who lives in a group home, meets Cliff and they soon fall in love. But Anne can't tell Cliff her living situation, nor that her mother is a racist. (full text)
When Tamecka goes away to college, she begins missing classes and failing exams, and her first inclination is to blame her foster care background. (full text)
Angela goes into care after being molested by her father. She's relieved to find a group home that provides her with the structure and safety she never got at home. (full text)
After her first day, Tamecka realizes her fears about living in a group home were unfounded. (full text)
Omar feels ashamed that the "normal" kids have parents and he's in foster care, so he tries various ways to hide his group home identity. But when his friend Joseph finds out the truth and accepts him, Omar begins to accept himself. (full text)
Zakkiaya's biological family neglects and abuses her. It's not until she enters a group home that she find "sisters" and a caseworker "Mom." (full text)
Virgen has lived in many different settings, always longing for a loving family. Surprisingly, she's preferred group homes to the therapeutic foster parents she's had. (full text)
Juliana's anger got her kicked out of a foster home and sent to two group homes. At the second group home, staff helped her overcome her anger by showing patience and care and teaching her coping skills. (full text)
Erica feels lost in big group homes and in her biological family, but finds peace and acceptance at a smaller, quieter group home.
Cecilia describes how a loving and attentive staff member has helped her calm down.
The author loses a close relationship with a staff member when she discovers that he is having sex with residents.
Karol argues that the cliques and politics of the group home often prevent residents from trusting one another.
Charlene doesn’t use drugs but in her group home, she is surrounded by residents who get high regularly.
Oumar and Nina, who are both in foster care, grow very close because their biological parents are dead and they don’t have close relatives. They become as tight as family as they care for each other’s needs.
Keniel is ashamed about being in foster care. But after revealing his situation to a teacher, he begins to shed his negative self-image.
Delicia describes the mixed reception she gets from the other residents when she first arrives in a group home.
Sandra is surprised to find a group home where teens and staff get along.
Monique is nervous about leaving her group home, but finds a foster mom she can trust.
Danielle starts dating Mike, who doesn't reveal much about himself and says he attends a boarding school. She eventually finds out he lives in a group home. Danielle, who is not ashamed of living in a foster home, feels hurt by Mike's deception and breaks up with him.
Inspired by the gay residents of the group home he supervises, a staff member comes out.
Six months after leaving his group home, Max finds himself doing something he never expected: missing the place.
The author feels that most of the group home staff he’s encountered are not adequately trained.
When Sharif ends up at a group home full of gay teens, he becomes more tolerant.
When Tamecka learns her group home is closing she interviews staff and residents to find out their reactions.
Lorraine is teased as a child and feels alienated from her biological family. She tries to commit suicide before going into foster care, but ends up bonding with the girls at her residential treatment facility, who become her new family.
Lenny, curious about stereotypes associated with foster kids, interviews six teens without revealing he's in the system. Some think foster youth are troublemakers and deserve pity, others are more open-minded. With witty asides to the reader, Lenny reacts to their comments.
Lenny meets a girl he likes, but is ashamed to tell her he lives in a group home. When she finds out the truth, the relationship ends. Lenny meets a new girl who doesn't care he's in foster care, but he still hides his identity from others.
Staff in the author’s group home are not preparing teens to be independent.
After the group home he likes is shut down, Sharif adjusts to a new one—then finds out that one is closing, too.
When a supervisor inquires about his past, Mohamed discovers the healing power of connecting with others.
The writer is outraged when she overhears a staff member gossiping about her.
Lorraine interviews a group home resident who recounts how she came to terms with being a lesbian, comparing it to accepting herself as a dark-skinned Latina.
Carlford interviews a lesbian group home resident, who describes coming out and how her group home reacted.
Carlford interviews gay and lesbian foster youth. They report widespread homophobia and mistreatment.
Carlford takes us through a typically chaotic day in his group home, where the staff members play practical jokes on the kids, the cooks burn coffee, and fellow residents steal your clothes—even while you're wearing them.
A girl in Shannel’s group home runs away, leaving her two young children behind.
When Chris doesn't receive the correct allowance for his weekly group home chores, he gets in a physical confrontation with the staff member in charge. When his cousin visits the group home and has a reasonable discussion with the staff member, Chris is inspired to control his anger.
Ja'Nelle was babied in foster care—staff did her laundry and cooked for her. Her independent living classes were a joke. She wishes she had been taught the skills she needs to function successfully in the real world. (full text)
When a new kid arrives in her group home, Angi is shocked to discover that "he" is really Marisol, a lesbian. They form a close friendship, and soon something happens that Angi never expected—she falls in love with a girl.
After witnessing the daily harassment of Jasmine, the scapegoat of her residence, Angela vows to stand up for her.
The author describes his battles with a group home supervisor who wields power by means of put-downs.
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