The Alliance for Children's Rights

Nineteen-year-old Angela found herself in an almost unimaginable situation: her single mother was dying of cancer and her final request was that Angela would keep the family together, meaning caring for her five younger siblings. Despite the serious hardship, Angela was determined to make sure that she and her siblings would not be separated in the foster care system. Upon receiving her call, The Alliance immediately began connecting Angela to community resources and starting the important process of securing legal guardianship for Angela of her siblings. Within six weeks, Angela had legal guardianship of Jesus (14), Santiago (13), Fernando (8), Lucio (7), and Alejandra (5). The Alliance continued working with Angela, helping her with housing, counseling, mentoring and benefits.

One of the biggest challenges for Angela is her little brother Fernando, who has Down Syndrome and was not receiving adequate services, like speech therapy, in school. After representation from an Alliance special education attorney, Fernando is now in a smaller, special day class, receiving one on one therapy from a speech pathologist and has begun learning sign language. Finally, after years of frustration, he can communicate his needs, which has made a tremendous difference in the family's life. Angela and her siblings have a long, arduous road ahead, but thanks to their commitment to each other and continued support from The Alliance and their community, they will be able to face their challenges as a family. "I've learned that nothing is impossible, only difficult," said Angela, a remarkable young woman who gives true meaning to our work.