Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City

by Andrea Elliott

Khaliq nods at J. Lo. She is correct. He had been stomped to the ground and humiliated—yes, “traumatized”—because “I walked away,” he says. “So, I got to defend myself.”

To change Dasani’s behavior, the team at Hershey must identify her triggers—any thoughts, words, or actions that cause her to lose control. It does not help that Dasani hates the word “trigger,” which makes her think of gunfire. The word is, in and of itself, a trigger. It disrupts the peace of Hershey, where “you don’t hear no gunshots.” It takes Dasani back to Brooklyn’s streets. Yet in both places, her “trigger” is the same.

Mrs. Akers is trained to manage these phone calls, staying calm and diplomatic. Her goal is to help the parent “de-escalate.” If the call goes well, the child is shielded. If it goes poorly, the child could wind up leaving.

Many of these adults have known only failure. Their sole accomplishment is the child they must give away, like a half-made sculpture to be finished by another artist.

She finds him hilarious and strange, how he shifts from one linguistic mode to another, bonding with her by “talkin’ hood,” while at formal events “he will start talkin’ mad proper and using big-ass words.” This is not a betrayal of his roots, Mr. Akers tells Dasani, but a mark of cultural agility.

But the rupture of a family happens at a different pace. It only begins with the event itself—the afternoon of October 6, the seven children stepping into a van. Many months later, they are still pulling apart. Their separation is not fixed in time. It is less an event than a condition, festering without end.

Both sisters want to leave foster care. With the help of Foundling, Nana applies to a boarding school for the blind, while Avianna awaits a decision from Hershey. Their new foster mother tells them she wants the weekends to herself, shuttling the girls between the homes of random relatives, sometimes to sleep on couches.

The system’s therapists adhere to a strict protocol, asking the same questions during intake. It is noted that Lee-Lee, who is barely four, has “never attempted suicide,” “has no criminal charges,” and “does not use alcohol, tobacco or illicit drugs.” As with any bureaucratic system, some workers are excellent while others miss the mark.