I Grew Up Homeless When My Family Abandoned Me | KARAMO

Your brother Booby raised you?

No, he did not raise me.

Okay, then tell me about it.

I mean, he may have, like when I was younger, I don't really remember him being there, but he went to foster care. So it's like, how can you raise somebody if you wasn't even there for my childhood? You know what I'm saying?

Got it, got it, got it. Tell me about growing up and being homeless then. What was that like? What was going on?

I mean, it was on and off 'cause like my mom, she wasn't really there. I was just bounced around a lot as a child.

And when did you and Booby fall out?

We fell out, I was about 16 or 17, I wanna say. Basically our aunt had passed and before I was supposed to be living with him, both of us were staying with my aunt and rest in peace to her.

Yeah.

We were there and then she passed away. She couldn't, we had to clean out her house or whatever. Okay, cool, so he ended up I was 16, he ended up putting me as a dependent on his house or whatever. So everybody's telling me like, "Oh, your brother had this housewarming party. Oh, he's doing this. Oh, he's doing that." I'm just like, "The fuck? Nobody texting my phone." You feel me? And I'm blowing them up. I'm blowing like, "Yo." And it came to a point I had to like, I was on the street. So that come with, I'm outside. And then I ended up renting out this, it wasn't even a room. It was literally like, a closet. I'm sleeping in somebody's closet and you got a house, you know what I'm saying?

And this when you were 17?

I was 16.

16 at the time. And you're 20 now, so this was 4 years ago.

Yeah.

4 years ago this happened, okay. And did Booby make you believe he was going to have a kid with you?

He said they're gonna take me faster if I have a dependent, if I have a child on my, you know, and I was 16, I'm basically a child. So, okay, cool, let's do this. I'm gonna have a place, you gonna have your place. I'm gonna start working whenever I get my information and then we gonna, "We gonna be a team." That's what it was made to be and it wasn't that.

So did he kick you out at that point and where did you go?

Well, basically we had a falling out, police got involved, so I ended up getting removed from the house. And when I was trying to, like, I ended up finding somewhere to go. It wasn't like somewhere to go, but my friend was letting me stay in his car. So I'm just like, "All right, cool, I'm about to get all my stuff." "Well, let me get my stuff." "All right, you not gonna let me get my stuff?" I ended up busting his window out and they just, they terminated my name from his lease. It was nothing else I could do. I was gone. I was outta there.

Yeah.

And I just stopped talking to him. I haven't talked to him in 2 years. We literally just started talking a couple months ago.

Yeah.

And that's 'cause I reached out. I popped up at your door.

Got it. So y'all have seen each other since?

Yeah.

Okay then. But it's been only for like 2 months now?

It's weird though 'cause it's like we haven't had no conversation. We haven't, like you saying you wanna talk. Okay, let's talk. I'm here to talk.

Well, let's hear what Booby had to say earlier today. So everyone take a look at this.

My little sister Ki blames me for, I guess, not stepping in more, for being a so-called father figure for her. But the crazy part about it is I took care of her when no one else was around, like nobody else was around. I'm the one who named her Kiara. And when we were little, there were times when we went hungry and I had to steal things for us. I went to the store and I would steal food, Pampers, wipes, and I stole all these things for Kiara just to take care of her. And after all that, I was the one who got sent to foster care in the end. So I get really sick and tired of hearing her say I don't do enough. I've never gotten so much as a thank you or anything for helping or protecting my sister. It feels like she just wants more and more and more out of me. So Key, it's time that you stop relying on me and stop acting like a baby and just grow the hell up. You're a woman now.

What do you feel about what Booby just said? 'Cause I saw you laughing.

I feel like it's a bunch of cap in that shit. 'Cause first of all, how could you raise somebody? You left before I was even 1. I wasn't even 1 yet probably, or not even 2, I'm gonna say that 'cause I really don't remember any of this. All what I remember is you were gone. Mikey, if anything, Mikey was that one that, okay, whatever my mom's slacking on, I'm about to go get it. Oh, you feeling this? All right, come talk to me, you feel me? Like that, he was that brother that was there.

Got it, got it, okay. Well, let's meet Key's older brother, Bubi. Bubi, come on out to the show.

Hey. What's going on?

I'm Biana the Don.

Hey, boo-bee, come through.

What's going on?

Come through.

Hey, Karamo.

How are you doing?

I'm good.

How are you?

I'm good. I live.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

I live for you.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

I'm not really feeling you right now, but you look good.

Thanks.

So my producer told me you were getting fired up backstage when you were hearing this. Why?

Because this is a lie.

Certain things were said, OK, yeah, but not everything was said. The apartment for us. She was hitting me up asking me when I was gonna get it. I wasn't responding at certain times before I didn't even move in. She was like getting smart to me and certain things like that.

Correct me, before that, before the smartness, you wasn't responding at all.

Well anyway, the rental office informed me that she was sending emails about me, sending voicemails about me saying that I'm living there without her. So I had to go to the rental office to speak to the lady and she told me that if I did not let her move in, I was gonna be kicked out. So that is when she came and we had a conversation about it and it was talked about what was gonna happen and the curfew and everything like that. Things were fine, we were getting along, you know, things like that. But then things started to happen. The police are now coming to my house, bringing you to my house. I am walking to the mailbox, come back, I see my screen is out my door. So you're now leaving out of my window, in and out my window at nighttime. I see you're sneaking out and things like that. So it just—

Yeah.

Okay.

She did end up leaving and one day I was sleeping inside my house. This was maybe like 6, 7 in the morning and I all of a sudden hear a bang through my window. So I go, my window is now busted and now I have to pay for it. So I go to the rental office, I tell them what happened and they're like, well, she needs to be put on trespassing and she's no longer allowed here. And so that is what I had to do. I ended up, Going to jail for my own things, not her, for my own things, my own things I was dealing with. I ended up coming home to my apartment, thank God. And then I heard, I got a knock at my door and it was the police. And are you such and such's brother? I'm like, yeah, why? I said, what, is she in trouble again? No, she's been in a really bad accident and they have her as a Jane Doe. I broke down crying. I broke down crying thinking that my sister died and we left off not speaking. You think that I have not done anything for you, but when we were living with my aunt, I did a Christmas for us. I got her stuff, my aunt's stuff, another person something, and another person something. I'm the only one who did that. When she didn't have clothes, I was out stealing them. When she didn't have anything, I was doing it. So don't sit here and say that I didn't do anything for you. We were together. When my aunt died, we held each other's hand. We were there together. So don't sit here on this stage and act like we didn't go through things together and that you only went through it with one sibling when I was there with you through a lot.

So y'all have a third sibling, right?

Yeah.

Mikey. And you haven't seen that brother in 10 years?

I haven't seen him in a while, but we didn't leave off on bad terms. I just haven't seen him in a while.

So y'all didn't leave off bad terms. When was the last time you saw Mikey?

I wanna say it was my nephew's birthday.

First time you've seen Mikey and first time you talked in a while. First time you've seen each other in 10 years and first time you've seen each other in a while. So everyone please welcome Mikey to the show.

Oh, y'all ain't see that.

It's all right. Here you go, baby. Um, what's it like seeing— first of all, welcome to the show. What's it like seeing Booby after 10 How do you feel after 10 years?

I feel good.

Can I give you a hug? Booby, what's going on in your mind right now?

I don't know. I don't know. I just haven't seen him in so long.

So this is a long time coming. When did you separate from living with your siblings?

With him? When I was probably like 7.

And do you feel Booby ever let you down? Wow, that's adorable.

No.

You ever feel like Booby ever let you down?

Mm-mm.

Never? Mm-mm. How so?

Even when you cried.

He always been there for me. We always been—

Booby's always been there for you?

Yeah, we always been together.

Yeah. Yeah. Why do you say you keep touch with Kimore?

I mean, I don't know. We just always talk. I don't know.

Do you all wanna have a relationship again? Yeah.

Desperately.

Why do you think y'all been so distant?

Just miscommunication.

Yeah.

A lot of it.

Lemme tell you something. The thing that I saw immediately is once you came out, it made so much more sense to me. Y'all have been 3 siblings that went through a lot of horrible things as kids, and I'm very sorry. Y'all had to deal with so much. Y'all were abandoned, y'all were separated. And what was easy, instead of blaming the adults that did this, it was easy to blame each other and just become distant from each other. And y'all let miscommunication think like, well, you should have been there more for me and you should have been more for me. But at the end of the day, y'all were all kids and then y'all had the power or knowledge of how to be there for each other. Even at 16 when that stuff was going on with the apartment, that like Booby still is trying to figure out their own life and trying to figure out stuff.

I mean, I get that, but why use me to get what you want? If that was the case, then why would you even ask me, oh, let's do this, let's get this apartment. We about to be two P's in the apartment. It's about to be all this good shit.

Can I tell you something? I gotta be real with you.

Why would you even do that?

I don't think that, I really honestly don't think Booby, and I hear him saying it, I don't think he was using you. What I think it was is like, as y'all are all trying to figure out how to get back on your feet because there was no adults around, there was nobody there to guide y'all, y'all are all trying to figure it out and you're trying to communicate your happiness and joy with each other. And then, but that then sounds like a false promise. It sounds like you're using me if it doesn't work out the way it's supposed to be. And I understand why I would feel that way 'cause you've been abandoned your entire life. But that's why—

And maybe I wasn't the best at it, but that's why I tried because I felt like she was the youngest. Like we went through it. And I felt like you had one last one. You should at least try with her and you didn't. And I tried and I just, I don't know. Nobody gave me the tools. So maybe it just wasn't, I didn't know the best on how to help her, but I tried what I could.

Yeah.

Sometimes I look at her and I feel like I failed her. My biggest regret when I left her with the foster care after naming her was I always said I was gonna come back for my sister.

But you can't tell somebody that's not your child, bro. I'm not your child. So it's not like I expect you to do anything.

You just don't, you don't see those things.

You can't fail me.

You can't fail me.

But hold on, you keep saying you can't fail me, but then you're in the same breath saying you failed me by not giving me what I needed. But he doesn't know how to do it either sometimes. Let me tell you something. Now that y'all have reunited, y'all need to understand something. Just because you've reunited doesn't mean you have to be responsible for each other. If I can give y'all anything to help y'all move forward is that you gotta give each other grace. The feelings you feel that make you feel angry or make you feel abandoned, no, these people are not doing that to you intentionally. All y'all are trying to learn it at the same time. But by giving each other grace, you all can be there for each other more. Will you turn to your siblings and tell 'em you'll give 'em grace?

I'll give you grace.

You believe it, booby? Y'all gonna be all right. Y'all gonna be all right. Anything you need to say?

I'm just happy that they getting together now.

You happy to be back around them too?

Yes.

I can see from the tears that started coming out your eyes earlier. I wish y'all the best of luck, all right?

Thank you.

Yeah, thank you for being with us. Make sure to come back next time, friends, so we can keep talking and growing.

I love you all.