Episode 273: Finding Hope While Healing from a Painful Past (w/ Destini McAlister)

Content / Trigger Warning: This episode does contain mentions and descriptions of abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. If any of this may be triggering for you, we recommend you either listen carefully, listen with someone else, or you may even consider skipping this episode.

Unfortunately, so many children who enter foster care have experienced some terrible things in their lives. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that in 2022, children entered foster care for the following reasons:

• 62% due to neglect
• 33% due to drug abuse
• 13% due to physical abuse
• 6% due to alcohol abuse
• 4% due to sexual abuse

These are just a few of the circumstances that cause removal, and they total to over 100% because these challenges are not mutually exclusive.

My guest for this conversation knows this all too well. Destini McAlister experienced neglect and abandonment while she was still an infant. She would then go on to experience sexual abuse and rejection throughout her foster care journey.

Although Destini’s journey was filled with hardship, her story is one of hope.

In this episode, you’ll hear how God was guiding Destini’s steps throughout her journey, the importance of processing the past, how hope can be found even in the darkest of stories, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/destini-mcalister-273/