The Goodness of America

Second Chances

High-school senior Trey Potter of Gahanna, Ohio, gave his mother a memory that she thought had passed her by: the high-school senior prom.

Trey’s mother, MelissaRoshan Potter, who goes by MelRo, was pregnant and homeless by the age of 16, and had been in and out of 23 different foster homes throughout her life. When she found out she was pregnant, she dropped out of high school.

She states that she never had anyone in her life to encourage her or make her feel valuable as a person. “My mother had me at 13 by rape. So I was subsequently placed in the foster care system when I was 10,” MelRo explained. “I’ve lived in 23 foster care and group homes, and have endured physical abuse, sexual abuse and child labor abuse. There was many times I thought I wasn’t going to make it out of the system.”

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