Haddish spoke about that trying time in her life in a keynote conversation for Variety's Changemakers Summit.
Tiffany Haddish is looking back on the time she spent in foster care. During a keynote conversation for the Variety Changemakers Summit, Haddish opened up about that time in her life and how it felt to be living day-to-day without a guarantee of the future.
"When I was in foster care, I mean, I thought I was going to die there," Haddish told the outlet. "I didn’t think I would make it to 18. And when I made it to 18, I was like, 'OK, I got to really think bigger.' And I did think bigger, and I’m definitely where I thought I would be. Well, it’s bigger than what I thought, but I feel the way that I was hoping I would feel, and that’s secure in my ability to provide for me."
Haddish is giving back to the very community she came from through her She Ready Foundation -- which pairs foster kids with internship programs.
The Afterparty actress said she "wanted to take away the feeling of feeling like garbage from kids."
"When I was a kid and I was moving around, all my stuff had to be in trash bags, and moving like that is not good for the self-esteem because it makes you feel like garbage that can easily be transported to here or there," she added. "You start thinking of yourself as such, as garbage. That was the worst feeling in the world personally, and I told myself, if I ever get any power, I’m going to try to make sure kids don’t feel like that. If I can reach out, I’m going to try to change that feeling for them. So I started my foundation, and we started with just giving out suitcases."
The comedian not only wants to give back to the foster care community, but she's also considering adopting a child of her own. When ET spoke to Haddish last June, she revealed she had already completed the parenting classes required to start the adoption process. The funny woman said it's something that's "super important" in her life plan, "for a multitude of reasons."
"I'm currently looking, deciding on adopting. First of all, especially after this pandemic, there are so many children left without their parents," Haddish explained. "There are a lot of people that need to be loved. It's Foster Care Awareness Month right now, and I think we all should be aware and try to do what we can."
"I really wanted to be a foster parent, but because I'm at a certain level of success, my lawyer suggested that it's probably best to just adopt, and I'm on that process now," she continued. "I want to get somebody that's five and up. You know, already knows how to use the restroom, already knows how to talk, already knows how to communicate. All I want to do is pour knowledge in ... get them ready for the big, bad world. That's what I want to do."
For more from Haddish, check out the video below.
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