AUSTIN, Texas — Ali is about to finish up the seventh grade and said she is more than ready to find a forever family to be by her side as she continues on her journey in middle school.
"I just want to be adopted," Ali said.
Ali is 13 years old and first entered into foster care when she was six. She explained what it was like moving out of her childhood home and in with different foster families and group homes.
"It was kind of scary. You didn't know anybody, and you go in somebody's home, but they're trying to take care of you. And you don't know them, so it's kind of scary to see that," Ali said. "It hurts to be away from your biological family."
Ali said she loves going to school to see her friends and teachers, who give her words of encouragement.
"I like being around people – like, a lot of people," Ali said. "'Cause, you know, there's some people that are shy and they don't like being around people – they like being alone. I like being around people."
PHOTOS | Forever Families: Meet Ali
Ali loves to paint, which is why KVUE's Hannah Rucker met her at Nili's Art Studio in Cedar Park. Nirali Patel taught Ali that it's okay to make mistakes and figure things out as you go along.
"That's basically what you do in life – you trust the process. You trust the process and do the right thing because, in the end, it's going to get better," Ali said.
Ali has biological siblings she would like to stay in touch with, but she also would be open to having new siblings, too.
To learn more about Ali or to put in an inquiry to adopt her, visit her page on the Heart Gallery of Central Texas.
Catch Ali's full story on KVUE Midday on Friday at 11 a.m.
KVUE launched the Forever Families segment with Partnerships for Children (PFC) in June 2020 to highlight children in the Heart Gallery of Central Texas who need secure and permanent families. Every day, there are nearly 1,000 children waiting to get adopted in Central Texas, according to PFC.
Editor's note: The children who are in the Heart Gallery program and featured in KVUE's Forever Families segments are children who have had every effort made on their behalf to connect them with family or others in their community to provide options for permanent, adoptive homes. Through no fault of their own, that hasn’t happened yet, and so in partnership with the Department of Family and Protective Services, we collaborate to bring awareness to KVUE viewers about these children in the hopes of finding them permanency before they age out.