“I remember the day that I left my mom, which at three years old, you don’t really remember much; but that day, I really remember,” said Tatiana Garcia, junior, who is in the foster program. Garcia has been in and out of foster care for majority of her life.

Foster care is a program designed to provide substitute housing and family structure for children with unstable homes. There are approximately 400,000 foster children in the United States, according to http://www.childrensrights.org.

“It was weird to try to get used to living with strangers. But my second foster family, which is now my god family, have become my support system. I no longer live with them, but their advice has really helped me take a stand for myself,” Garcia said.

At Lake Zurich High School, faculty and staff try to make the high school a safe and predictable place for student, Melissa Pikul, assistant principal for student services, said.

“Our social workers and counselors play a great role in helping our students to feel at home. Hopefully, [the students] feel that there are multiple adults in the building, every single day, that care about them and about their development socially, emotionally, and academically,” Pikul said.

School is one of the most predictable places for a student, according to Pikul; if the student is struggling through the family dynamic or is in a chaotic situation, school can be very helpful. Pikul explained that, although, kids will claim to not really enjoy their time at school, it is an environment that is very well organized, and they know what to expect.

A child’s safety is important when trying to provide the opportunities for children to have the brightest future possible, Children’s Rights, a non profitable organization, said.

Senior, Thomas Miller and his family understand that better than most. They host foster children. According to the senior, his family had been hosting foster children for over 5 years. Miller said he feels that there may have been times he did not enjoy coming home to encounter other children occupying his parent’s time, complaining, screaming, and crying, but his attitude changed over time.

“I think that it may have separated us a little bit as a family. It’s a lot of time and energy, but in the end, it all comes down to [knowing] you’re changing someone’s life, [and knowing] they are at a way better place. You just keep that in the back of your mind because you are going to change this kid’s life, and one day they are gonna be something great,” Miller said.

Such realizations took time, but Miller knows the difficulties are worth it, he says.

“Sometimes, it’s really hard to bond with them, especially when some of them have really bad past or detachment issues,” Miller said. “Some of them really don’t want to be your friend, but you do have to live with them, so you have to create a bond, so you’re close enough to be a family.”