SALT LAKE CITY — Hanna, whose last name we will not use to protect her and her young children, said she was driving to church with her now ex-husband six years ago when a police officer stopped them.
“My children were not restrained and were within reach of the (drug) paraphernalia,” Hanna said. “That’s the truth, and they were eliminated.”
Their sons, Jace and Jagger, are now 6 and 12 years old. They were taken to The Christmas Box House. Hanna was taken to jail. Both she and the children’s father had undergone medical procedures and what began as prescription pain medications became an addition to illegal drugs.
The children ended up in foster homes. Jagger was only 3 years old at the time. But he remembers it well and said what made the biggest difference for him was being able to stay with his older brother.
When the children were placed with their first foster family, they said they felt safe. They even did fun things like Lagoon and water parks. And while they stayed with that adoptive family, her mother had a hard realization.
“About six months, on one of my visits, the caseworker said, ‘You haven’t done anything to change, you haven’t done anything to improve this, me and the court are going to have a team meeting.’ I’m going to recommend adoption,’” Hanna said. “That’s when it hit me, that’s when I started making some changes.”
Attend AA meetings
Hanna began attending AA meetings and using the resources the state offered. It was around this time that she met Tracey Allred.
Allred now works for Utah Foster Care, but at the time she was fostering other children.
“It was an instant connection,” Hanna said of her meeting with Allred.
Allred didn’t care about Jayce and Jagger, but he opened his heart to all three. The relationship was beneficial for everyone. Allred said that for the first time since she started raising children, she put herself in Hanna’s shoes.
“She taught me through our friendship and empathy,” Allred said. “I’ve never been able to put myself into that side of foster care.”
While Allred gained a new perspective, Hanna gained a strong female role model for the first time in her life.
“My relationship with Tracey, having someone who, like I said, answers the phone, attends family events and can be my mentor through motherhood, was really beautiful,” Hanna said. “It was really enriching. “It made me feel like I can do this.”
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Taking care of your children
And she did it. And while she worked, her children said that her adoptive families took good care of them.
“They made really good dinners,” Jayce told KSL TV.
And they enjoyed the afternoons just hanging out. But the most important thing is that they were together.
“Let’s say, two parts of yin and yang, one whole,” the boys told KSL.
Hanna said there are many misconceptions about parents who become addicted to drugs, such as that they don’t love their children or that if they wanted to stop using drugs, they could. She said the addiction was stronger than her. But, now that she has been sober for almost three years and her children live with her, she is grateful.
“I’m so grateful for the foster system,” Hanna said. “I can’t say enough that there are people who are willing to open their homes to children who have fallen on hard times.”
Allred and her family have already raised eight children. She believes there are many Utah families who could successfully foster children in need of care.
“If you have space in your heart and in your home, and you are a good, confident person, you can do this,” Allred said.
Hanna and her children are their mother’s biggest fans and recognize how hard she has worked to bring the family back together.
“We’re very proud of her,” Jayce and Jagger told KSL.
Allred knows that not everyone can get a foster care license, but she says there are many other ways to help. For more information, visit utahfostercare.org.
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