Emma

Emma grew up in a small mountain town. Her mother loved her deeply and struggled deeply. There were good years and hard years, in that order, until the hard years became all of them.

Emma entered foster care at seven. The first months were quiet — too quiet, her therapist said. She wasn't crying or acting out. She was disappearing into herself. Art therapy was what finally brought her back.

She paints. She writes poems with the earnestness only a nine-year-old can bring. She notices things other people miss — the color of the sky before rain, the exact moment a room gets quieter.

Have a real art show at school. Go camping with her foster family. Feel, someday, the way she used to feel when her mom would braid her hair on the porch.

Art supplies, outdoor programs, and the counseling that turned her quiet into words. Emma's healing is slow and real, and it costs what it costs.