tw: neglect; dysfunctional families
[name_f]Alecto[/name_f] " [name_f]Ailey[/name_f] " [name_f]Destiny[/name_f] Sarris-Castillo (13) is [name_m]Shane[/name_m] and her husband’s adopted daughter, and the niece of [name_f]Manuela[/name_f] and [name_f]Elena[/name_f]. The finality of getting a permanent home has meant everything to [name_f]Ailey[/name_f], who admits to her therapist that by the time it happened, she was doubtful of leaving the foster system, having spent more of her life in it than out. [name_f]Ailey[/name_f] was removed from her parent’s care at 2 years old, after numerous complaints about their abandonment of her were received by local CPS.
She wasn’t sent to live with any relatives for a multitude of reasons, but there were two primary reasons: both of Ailey’s birth parents come from erratic and troubled homes themselves, and the relatives who are in healthier, stabler homes just couldn’t provide for her. For the next eight years, [name_f]Ailey[/name_f] moved between foster homes and placements, never finding somewhere that worked for her sadly.
In places where [name_f]Ailey[/name_f] was happiest, there was never availability for her to be adopted, and even then she admitted to her social worker that it didn’t feel like the right fit really. Ailey’s always been quieter and a bit of a pessimist, believing it best to never get her hopes up too much about anything. This increased as she got older and the hope of being adopted just became less and less palpable for [name_f]Ailey[/name_f], so she resided herself to remaining in the system.
Being fostered by the Castillos’ finally changed this. Finally, [name_f]Ailey[/name_f] didn’t feel pressured to completely change her personality or force herself to make any decisions too quickly, which was a major settling issue for her before. Her time was being put first and it’s why she’s been overjoyed to legally join the family, helped by having plenty of space as an only child to get comfortable and just feel at home for the first time in what feels like forever.