Selena Jerome’s life has not been easy. The 22-year-old from Liberty City has had to deal with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, unstable family environments, mental health issues and financial struggles for most of her life.

“I never knew my biological parents until after I was 17,” she says. “I only lived with them for two years, and then it was really toxic.”

But now, thanks to her resilience and help from Casa Valentina, a transitional housing and life-skills program for youth in Miami, she’ll soon move to her own place,

“Selena has her Casa Valentina people to support her,” says Janelle Sales, life skills coordinator at Casa Valentina, the agency that nominated Jerome for help from the Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald Wish Book program. “As far as real family, that’s something that she has always wanted but, you know, sometimes things happen.”

Selena says her mother was an alcoholic, so she lived in an orphanage after birth. She was adopted at age 5, but due to a lack of strong parental figures, she says, she developed a short temper.

“It’s hard to raise somebody else’s child because every child goes through that rebellious phase when they want to figure out who they want to become and I went through that,” says Selena. “I went through it hard.”

As a teenager, Selena recalls being “a wild one,” with a tendency to defy authority. She was bullied while attending North Miami Beach High School and had a hard time keeping up with schoolwork due to her disorder, known as ADHD.

There were many misunderstandings at home because of her temper, which caused her to look for ways to move out, so she spent her young-adult life moving between shelters and her adoptive family’s home.

At age 17, she jumped off the second-floor balcony of that home, and her adoptive family had her institutionalized. When she was freed, she made plans to get her own place.

“My [adoptive] family was very malicious,” she says. “When they found out I was moving out, they took all my stuff and then they locked me out.”

After that, she lived for a couple of years with her biological parents. But that didn’t go well either. It had been too long since they lived together, she says.

She learned about Casa Valentina through Educate Tomorrow, a transitional program at Miami Dade College that offers housing aid, academic support and other services to students affected by homelessness and the foster-care system.

“She went through some mental health challenges, but, because she came here, she’s been able to manage them and learn how to get proper help,” says Molly Schantz, program coordinator at Casa Valentina.

Since moving into Casa Valentina at 19, she has learned to love herself and overcome anxiety issues — and has gained financial literacy skills to help her achieve independence.

Selena, now 22, is working as a full-time private security specialist at an Apple store. She is also pursuing an associate’s degree in healthcare administration at Miami Dade College online.

When asked about her immediate needs, she points to moving-out essentials like mops, cleaning supplies, a bed, sheets, pots, pans, dressers, a TV, and cutlery.

“I’m not rich now, but I can figure it out on my own when I budget,” says Selena. “Casa V helped me with that.”

She is thankful to finally have the opportunity to live by herself.

“This is you really becoming an adult and fully independent,” she says. “I’ve wanted this for so long, and now it’s here.”

Though she is a bit nervous, Selena is hopeful about her future because of all the tough lessons life has taught her.

“It’s hard for me, dealing with ADHD and my mental health, but I feel like these things all happen for a reason — to build my adversity and character towards things — so I’m just going to keep going,” she says.

How to help

To help this Wish Book nominee and the more than 100 other nominees who are in need this year:

▪ To donate, use the coupon found in the newspaper or pay securely online through www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook

▪ For more information, call 305-376-2906 or emailWishbook@MiamiHerald.com

▪ The most requested items are often laptops and tablets for school, furniture, and accessible vans

▪ Read all Wish Book stories on www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook

This story was written for Florida International University’s South Florida Media Network.

This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 6:00 AM.