While patrolling a park in Modesto, I found a young woman, Kiara, curled on a bench, cradling her newborn, Nia. She had aged out of foster care and was homeless. I got them to a shelter and thought that was the end of it. But I kept visiting. Kiara began asking me parenting questions. One day, she said, “I’m not ready to be a mom. But you… you care.”

I didn’t say yes immediately. Adoption was complicated—CPS got involved, and I was kept from seeing Nia for two months. Meanwhile, Kiara tried hard to turn things around but eventually called in tears: “You already are what she needs.”