(dramatic music)
When I was five my mom put me in the car
and we left Paul.
I knew that we were leaving for good.
I never saw him again.
(dramatic music)
Once we left, we were on the road with truck drivers.
I think my mom was dating the truck drivers.
We would sleep in the back, sleeper compartment
about this big with my head at one end
and their heads at the other end.
Out of the blue one day the truck driver
that we were with took my mom and I to a hotel.
The next thing I know she puts my stuff in a box
and told me that she couldn't take care of me
and somebody was coming to take me to a different home.
(dramatic music)
The social worker came and I got in the car and left.
That was five when I went to the first foster home.
Some of the foster homes were good
and the worst one I was molested by the boyfriend
of one of the grown daughters.
When I was 10 a family member was able to get custody
of me and I left.
I thought all of that was over now
and I was going to be with family and going to be happy.
I ended up putting myself back into foster care.
I was in 21 different homes.
In the last group home I was 16, pregnant,
so I became emancipated and I ended up
getting my own place with my first child
and then I got married at 18.
(dramatic music)
Yeah, we're talking about these abandonment issues
and this woman that you are going to look for,
there seems to be a pattern here,
at five years old she just gives you a box
and says I'm not gonna take care of you anymore,
somebody else is gonna do that.
And Shana says at 19 Crystal asked to stay with her
because she was homeless, right?
Right.
Take a look at this.
When I was 19 and married, somehow my husband
talked with my mom.
She was in a hospital for depression and needed
somewhere to go, before I even knew it,
he had made arrangements for her to live with us.
Well, it was pretty weird my mom moved in,
she didn't have a job and I'm pretty much supporting her.
She stayed in her room a lot.
She was very negative and pessimistic and grouchy.
My mom started seeing this guy
and for some reason she was sneaking him
in and out the bedroom window.
I was more like the mother she was more like the child.
One night she came over and just dropped a note
on the floor in front of me.
The note said this isn't working out,
we're not getting along, I'll be leaving soon.
And that was the last time that I ever saw her.
Oh my gosh, that's my mom and that's me.
Is the only picture that you have of your mom?
I don't even have a picture of my mom,
they just showed this to me today.
I haven't seen my mom in 30 years.
I would love to meet her if she was still alive.
(dramatic music)
What's you all's reaction to
this is the reality to what this woman's life has been
and the impact it's had.
I'd rather know than not know.
Well, we have some more family members in the audience,
Shana's daughter, Anastasia is here,
she is Tyler's cousin.
She's sitting next to Tyler's fiance.
So guys say hi.
Nice to meet you, Tyler.
So, we have a lot of players here, involved in this.
How's it feel to know that you do have a cousin
that you didn't know about?
It's really crazy, we never had any cousins,
or uncles or anything our whole life,
so this is my first cousin,
you know on my mom's side, sorry.
So it's crazy.
That's good news, right?
Yeah. Yeah,
you're glad to meet him? Happy tears. (laughs)