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Motherhood is special to Michelle Phoenix. She has a one-year-old nicknamed "Zeke."

She was able to secure housing for her and her baby through a program in Johnson County called "Foster Youth to Independence."

"I, myself, have lived in my car before. I didn't have anywhere to go money for food, money for housing, money for even gas. I would stay in my car in the parking lot of a hotel I worked at," Phoenix said.

A small apartment can rent for more than $1,000 in Johnson County.

For young people aging out of the foster care system, that cost can limit their ability to find a place of their own.

Phoenix had to grow up quickly and learn how to be an adult when she was a teenager.

"My first doctor appointment I ever made myself, I was 16 years old," she s

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