She wakes up and starts her day, but this time in a new home, with a new set of foster parents, and a new school ahead of her. She takes it all in stride, knowing that the home that she has landed at is not the same as the ones before it. This place is a haven, a haven of hope for girls who have never had a place to truly call their home.

“It all started when I was a baby, my mother was on methamphetamines so she had to give us up for adoption,” senior Tara Campa said. “So we inevitably got out of that and ended up in the foster system which led us to Hope Haven.”

Campa, being born into the foster system, wants to shed light on the fallacies that many in America have associated with it. It is not the simple system that many people believe it to be, and for many, it is not anything more than a roof over their head.

“The foster system is very different than most people would think.  It is very dependent on your attitudes and how you act and all of that,” Campa said. “Your caseworkers will send in requests to get you moved and whatnot, so I ended up applying to Hope Haven and now it is all about obliging with their rules.”

While the foster system is in no way easy, it is sometimes a blessing to those who find the right, loving home. This wasn’t always the case for Campa, but now it is a reality that she is very fortunate to have a welcoming home at Hope Haven.

“I absolutely love living at Hope Haven even while it is a new experience for both of us. The care staff definitely try their hardest to care for us and to be mothers for us. I wouldn’t  have it any different way”

From a very young age, Campa has been in a difficult situation that has left her vulnerable to a reality that many cannot imagine. This reality is something that has formed the person that she is today, someone who has a first-hand understanding of the struggles that others face and how to effectively help them.

“ I was told at a very young age that I would more likely than not become a victim of [sex trafficking],” Campa said. “It helps me feel as if I have a better understanding of girls in this situation [and] this helps me help them open up about their experiences so I can help them.”

The experiences that Campa has had have directly affected her beliefs both morally and politically. Through Christianity, she challenges harsh realities such as human trafficking with a gentle heart meant to comfort those that need it.

“I really don’t really have a lot of social or political beliefs besides the things that are personal to me,” Campa said. “Of court any type of abuse or trauma are going to have an aspect in my life and since I am a Christian I want to support people through their lives.”

Living through these experiences, Campa has gotten to a point where she has trouble differentiating what someone is really wanting from her. This has changed a lot with Hope Haven as it has served as an immense source of love and rehabilitation for her.

“A major thing that really surprised me coming out of foster care was Mr. Curtis and the Hope Haven staff,” Campa said. “ All of them truly do care, and it is the kind of thing where you reach out and create personal bonds, it is essentially just a bunch of moms.”

After all of this, she has gotten to a point where she can feasibly think about her future and what she wants for that, instead of just worrying about the present. She is wanting to have a future where she can help young people in the situation she was in and help them find the word of God.

“What I want for my future is that I want to stand on my own two feet,” Campa said. “I want to go to college and go and spread the word of God [so] that I can be a support system for others.”