Life in Foster Care Is Like A Subway Ride

As a child, because of his mother's drinking and depression, John Dunn was taken from his mother, his two older sisters Cathy and Linda, and his older brother Ron. John lived in foster care for 16 years, most of which were with his brother Ron Dunn who has been a bike courier for over 25 years! Both John and his brother were moved approximately 13 times while in foster care. In 1988, when John was 18 years of age, he chose to leave foster care and live on his own. Approximately 13 years after that, in 2001 when he contacted the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto to get copies of his own life records, he learned that Children's Aid Societies generally, as a matter of internal policy, do not provide copies of former foster kids' life records to them. John entered into a complaint procedure with the Society and was unsuccessful in getting copies of his records. John's discovery of how Children's Aid Societies treat former foster children is what inspires his activism today, as well as this story. This short story will take you on a thirteen minute, virtual subway ride through his life as a foster child.