Life is not always beautiful for everyone. We will all go through hard times, but some people will go through them sooner than others. Some kids around you are facing very difficult circumstances. Today we want to highlight an amazing young man, Zachary Reinhart, who has been through some tough times, but has chosen to take what has happened to him to make a difference in the world.
From the time he was a little boy he suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of both of his parents. His mother abused prescription drugs and was not very present in his life, sleeping a good majority of the time. He and his sister raised themselves. When he did happen to see his mom, she would tell him that he was stupid and worthless and wouldn’t amount to much. When he was fourteen, he watched his mother kick his sister out with nothing but the clothes on her back. Then he became the sole focus of his mom and her boyfriend’s abuse. Then at fifteen years old, he was also thrown out. After about a year, his mother tried to kill herself, and so he moved back in with her wanting to help her. The abuse began again until a doctor friend noticed the marks on his body and reported his mother.
Zach was then put into foster care. He was placed with a loving couple who treated them as their own. He still has challenges with depression, anxiety, and struggles with his self-worth, as many kids in foster care do. Some days are a struggle because that stays with you for a long time.
He has chosen to take the pain of what has happened to him and use if for something good. His mission is to help and support the foster care crisis that is present all over the United States. He wants to let kids in foster care know that they are valuable and loved. His guiding quote is “Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody.” He shares thoughts on helping kids in foster care over on his Facebook page FaithFostersHope . He reminds us to, “Love everyone you come in contact with because you never know what they are hiding behind the mask the put on.”
You can watch a video about him that aired on ABC TV here: https://weartv.com/features/angels-in-our-midst/foster-child-uses-pain-of-his-past-to-help-others-08-15-2017
BeDaring.Life wants to highlight young people who are out there doing great things. If you know of a young person who you think we should highlight send a message to rachel@raisingconfidentteens.com.
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