Kaine is a 23-year-old man. 

He was born on April 3, 1996, with deformed hands and virtually no forearms.  Since he first started talking, he has had a stuttering issue.  His mom was a drug addict.  She died in 2016.  He knows his dad, but his dad has disowned him.  He has a younger sister who lives with his dad. 

 

Foster system

When Kaine was 14 (2010), Kaine's mom put him in the foster system.   He did graduate from Timberland HS.  

In 2015, Kaine aged out of the foster care system.  At that time, he was given a packet of resources and was wished "good luck".   With no guidance or direction, and just like that, he was homeless.   

 

April 2017, a police officer reached out to us after Kaine was reported to be stealing food and trespassing.  Kaine was just wandering around, trying to survive.  When we met Kaine, he had nothing, no SSI, no job, no ID, and nobody who cared.

 

We immediately got him a hotel room, clothes, toiletries, and food.  Using our home address as his own, we were able to get him a state ID and his social security card.  We were also helping him get his disability reinstated.

 

Found himself in legal trouble 

In May 2017 he borrowed a friend’s car and caused an accident.  Kaine was taken to the hospital by ambulance and was in the hospital for weeks. From there, he was moved into a rehab facility. 

 

August 2017 he was arrested and was in the St. Louis county jail for 22 months.

May 2019, he was released and transferred to the St. Charles County of corrections for the traffic accident.  

​

During his 2 years in jail, Peggy and I did visit with him and we put some money on his account for personal items.

​

August 8, 2019, Kaine was released, on probation for 5 years. 

​

Before we met Kaine in 2017, he already had a police record for trespassing while looking for shelter from the weather and he was arrested for stealing food so that he could eat.  He was homeless the minute he aged out of the foster care in April 2015. 

​

NO SUPPORT SYSTEM

In 2015, Kaine aged out of foster care as an adult.  He did not graduate out of the system, but he was just aged out of the system. Which means he was treated like spoiled milk that you would just toss out after the expiration date.

 

Without the proper care and support, he now struggles emotionally, educationally and financially. The system has let him down in preparing him for life before he was launched into adulthood. The foster system let him go into this community knowing he was going to be homeless and now he has a police record.

 

Kaine is a great kid.  Before his accident, there were church families that would have him over to their homes for dinner, they did his laundry and they hung out together.  He also helped in assisting in Sunday School classes.

 

While in jail, he read a lot and attended group therapy sessions and Bible study.  Again, he is a great kid who has not been given the emotional stability and support necessary to properly fit into society as an adult.

​

​