Aaliyah's journey began in 2018 when she entered foster care. The following year, 2019, I met her while fostering her younger sister. In 2020, her mother's rights were terminated, making Aaliyah available for adoption, with her then-foster family planning to adopt her in December. However, in 2021, those plans fell through due to behavioral concerns, and Aaliyah moved into my home. A few days later, her previous foster family reversed their decision, and caseworkers, with police assistance, removed her from my home against her will while I was at work. Between 2021 and 2022, Aaliyah endured the instability of thirteen different foster home placements, some of which subjected her to further abuse, despite asking the child welfare agency to be placed with me. In 2022, Aaliyah returned to my care with nothing but a duffel bag and backpack because the number of moves misplaced all of her personal belonging. Aaliyah finally felt safe, only to face the threat of being sent to Mexico to live with her biological father, a man she didn't know and who had recently verbally abused her. In 2023, after Aaliyah's strong objections, the courts agreed to begin the process of terminating his rights to move towards adoption.

2024 brought further delays and cancellations, though a new caseworker finally showed genuine care, and a September court date was set, with intent to adopt paperwork completed and filed. Tragically, on September 3, 2024, Aaliyah passed away at Sarah Bush Lincoln Memorial Hospital, still a ward of the state and bearing a name she despised. In 2025, the Aaliyah Rose Foundation was established to honor her memory by positively impacting the lives of others.