Cherie's Story
A Mother Fighting for a Second Chance
with Support from Her CFR Team
In 2017, Cherie was grappling with homelessness and other issues. The City swiftly took her son, Noah, and placed him with his father, perceiving Cherie as angry and unreasonable. With courage and determination, and the expert assistance of her team from CFR (Wanjiro Gethaiga, Social Work Supervisor; Anastasia Rivera, CFR Litigation Supervisor; and Robin Lyde, CFR Parent Advocate), Cherie changed the narrative and brought Noah home.
This video was filmed in 2020 when the Capacity Building Center for States recruited storytellers to participate in a 3-day digital storytelling workshop to create stories the Children’s Bureau featured on its website for National Foster Care Month in May. The theme was “Foster Care as a Support to Families, Not a Substitute for Parents.” CFR is proud to share our contribution to this project.