StoryCorps: A Second Chance For A Father And Foster Son

"He has been an excellent father to them," Horace continues. "And I am so grateful that he embraced them the way he did. I'm also grateful for the opportunity that I had to embrace you. So, that's the least that I owe — the least I could do," Horace says.

His foster dad may have made mistakes in his past, Adrian says, "but you're the most influential person in my life," he tells him. "I'm just glad that I met you."

Horace is proud of how well his one-time foster son is doing today. Adrian, now 22, hopes to become a pharmacist. "You know, it makes me look like I'm smart, but you're the one who's smart," Horace laughs. "God, for you to become the man that you are, I am so proud of that."

Adrian Hawkins,  foster father, Horace Atwater Jr.

StoryCorps

Listen to Stories | StoryCorps: “What was the hardest part about me being gone?”

StoryCorps

“What was the hardest part about me being gone?”Listen to Stories | StoryCorps
Recorded in Baltimore, MD.

Rowena Gore-Simmons runs a non-profit which helps formerly incarcerated women find housing and adjust to life outside the prison system.

But in 2001, Rowena was just getting out of prison herself. She was a recovering drug addict and had served time for theft.

Her daughter, Kenya, was 4 years old when Rowena was incarcerated, and wanted to ask her mom about her time in prison.