Who teaches you to drive when you’ve lived in more than 20 homes?
He had been in and out of foster care for eight years.
Most teenagers learn to drive in a parent’s car, with a parent in the passenger seat. It takes months of practice. Someone willing to hand over the keys, ride along, and trust a brand-new driver behind the wheel.
He had never stayed anywhere that long.
His foster mom signed him up for Paving the Way.
Two weeks in June, completely free. A state-certified instructor in the passenger seat of a car with a second brake on that side. Hours behind the wheel. Help with the paperwork a teenager in foster care might not have.
On test day, he passed on the first try.
He was the first of his brothers to get a driver’s license.
Today he has a high school diploma. He lives on his own.
Twenty homes in eight years. Now he decides where he’s going.
In the Ozarks, this is what community looks like.
CARRY HOPE – DAY 6 OF 30
For 30 days in November, discover the people, the needs, and the ways this community responds.
Follow the 30-day challenge
What you can do
Photo from Paving the Way, edited for this story.
Carry Hope
For 30 days in November, we are sharing one story a day about a real challenge facing children and families in the Missouri Ozarks, what is being done about it, and how you can help carry it.
Read more Carry Hope stories →Our Matching Partners
Thanks to these partners, $25,500 is waiting to match your gifts this November.
| Dr. Dawn and Dean Barker |  |  |
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Along with a generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
