Before I went into foster care, I always looked up to my biological mother.

She was a woman of God, fierce and taught me a key lesson: There is always hope. It’s a lesson that sustained me and still does as I now prepare to enter college – something I would have never imagined just four years ago.

When I was 6 years old, my dad was deported to Mexico. My mother had to care for me and my three siblings – all of us were younger than 8. We lived paycheck-to-paycheck while she worked jobs as a crossing guard before and after school and nine hours per day at a fast food restaurant.

Things took a turn for the worse when my mother got a new boyfriend and they began using drugs. She stopped caring for us properly. We didn’t have much food or clothes, and there was only a single bed with plastic sheets. We had to fend for ourselves in the house while they spent most of their time in the garage out back.

It was difficult to function at school while worrying about what clothes we could wear or what we’d eat when we got home.

On Sept. 11, 2019, when I was 13, my mother and her boyfriend had an argument that escalated into pushing, hitting and physical harm to my 15-year-old sister. She ran away to get help.

When the police arrived at 5 a.m. and saw the state of things, they arrested my mother, her boyfriend, and told us to grab whatever we could because we were going somewhere else.

We spent two days at Children and Family Services before we were separated into two foster homes. My younger sister and I were placed with the foster family that I am still with today. Later, my younger brother joined us.

It was hard at first, particularly because I had many biological family members but none could take me in. That hurt. And I had to adjust to new rules and chores, a whole new family. But then I began to see that our old way of living was not a right way of living. Here there was stability and safety, and the opportunity to recover from trauma.

Eventually I began to call my foster mother “mom” because she now had that role in my life, helping me move forward.

This spring I will graduate early from high school. I have a full scholarship to Cal State San Bernardino where I plan to study business and also English since I love writing and the freedom of imagining stories. I am also benefitting from a new program California offers, the HOPE Program for foster youth and children who lost a parent to COVID, which is more commonly known as “baby bonds.”

HOPE accounts were signed into law in 2022. They are seeded by the state and invested on behalf of the recipients. Under this program, approximately 58,500 children will receive access to $4,500 at age 18, and the money will remain available until age 26.

For me, the funds will help with transportation for college. Others might use it towards tuition or an entrepreneurial idea, or some other wealth-building activity. The state is also engaging a “youth panel of experts,” myself included, to help with program implementation, utilizing our expertise on issues like how to best reach young people. What kind of language do we connect with, or not connect with?

We also have the opportunity to share our stories so that the public can better understand the HOPE Program and why they matter.

For me, there is an additional benefit in that the young people who are part of this group also form a kind of community. I know that I am not alone – that there are people I can trust and talk to, and they will understand my story. That’s something I really need.

My hope, for a lack of a better word, is that this program will be successful and get expanded so that all young people experiencing this kind of hardship will have the resources to pursue their dreams, just like everyone else.

The place where I have lived the past four years is so beautiful. I love taking walks to be alone and to relax. The clouds are often low, but I can see the silhouettes of the mountains. As my mind clears, I remember it is hope that brought me here, but the next steps will be all mine.

Celestina Ramirez is a senior at Options for Youth Public Charter School in Victorville. She is a member of the HOPE Program’s Youth Panel of Experts.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California foster youth and COVID orphans gaining a sense of hope from trust fund program