Jordan Cuffy doesn’t like to talk about his past − at least the part before his life with Odell Martin. Jordan joined Odell’s family as her foster child when he was 10 years old.
“He was sad and didn’t laugh much,” Odell recalls. “He didn’t say anything at all the first few days.”
But Odell’s family is big, close and often boisterous. Her six children were grown by the time Jordan arrived, but her house was always full of visiting relatives.
“They didn’t let Jordan hang back. They always included him in their conversations, trying to draw him out of his shell.”
“They were all open arms,” said Jordan.
From the start, Odell was committed to making it work. “We’re going to do this. It may not be my way and it may not be your way, but we are going to get it done.”
It wasn’t always easy. Jordan says his biggest challenge was getting along with Odell, who he calls “Grandma.” She had much stricter rules than he was used to and held him accountable for his actions.
Odell admits that she can be a task master. “You have to be tough, but also make it not so serious all the time,” she said.
She makes sure to involve her foster children in a variety of activities, to expose them to different things. Jordan enrolled in summer camp with the Ebony Horsewomen, learning quite a bit about horse care. And as a special treat, Odell took him to Disney World.
“I want him to know that he deserves special things. They feel so thrown away as it is.”
Jordan’s takeaway from those experiences? “She taught me I can be whatever I want to be.”
Now a sophomore at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, Jordan is studying marketing. He plans to enlist in the Navy when he graduates to become an officer and “see the world.”
Odell’s home is still his, too. He returns there when he’s on break from school and calls their relationship “tighter than ever.”
Jordan’s advice to foster kids is to “make the best of it. The past is over, move on and get yourself on the right path.”
Jordan found that path with Odell’s help. For him, once he became part of Odell’s family, “everything came together.”