Summary
In February, the Children's International Institute hosted a conference titled "Healing The Traumatized Child." [Wendi Selby]'s dear friend and former coworker Sandra Chase invited her to speak. The thought of sharing such personal knowledge with a room full of strangers gave Wendi pause, but she accepted anyway. "Sandra never let me forget that as a survivor, I have a responsibility to share my story, for the benefit of teaching and setting things straight," said Wendi.
"She also told me that I had a right to speak up and more importantly, I had choices. I started speaking up and saying 'this isn't fair.'Ultimately, Wendi found herself without her siblings for the first time, a frightening situation. Her older siblings would return to frequent the neighborhood where they would visit their mother, but Wendi kept her distance because she was afraid of being like her mother, a depressed alcoholic unable to preserve the sanctity of her motherhood. Wendi's father had some 13 children by various relationships but she never had a father-daughter relationship with him.See the full content of this document
Extract
A Former Foster Child's Journey to Healing
There are over a half million children currently being raised in foster care nationwide, and over the years millions of youth have languished in the system. While reports are staggering that many of those within the prison system started life in foster care, there are many who go on to become productive members of society.
One success story is that of New York based Wendolyn Selby, licensed clinical social worker who now works at the The Andrus Children's Center, where she flourished after a painful life in various foster homes. The following excerpts are taken from the writings of her yet to be published boo...See the full content of this document
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