I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to The Blind Side, and Beyond

Chapter 4 describes Oher’s life with his foster family, headed by a woman named Velma Jones. Velma and her twin sister Thelma both took in foster children and were heavily involved in the community. Velma had two of her own children and fostered four boys in addition to Oher and his brother Carlos. The size of the household felt familiar to Oher—but in other ways, it felt very different.

Velma’s household had a structure that Oher wasn’t accustomed to. The children had to attend school regularly and on time, keep up with their homework, and complete chores like cleaning their rooms and washing dishes. Oher found after-school daycare particularly difficult. Because Velma taught GED classes, the children had to stay in daycare until she could pick them up. Oher was used to playing and running around without supervision, so this felt restricting to him.

Another new experience was attending church every Sunday. Oher and Carlos occasionally acted as ushers and sang in the church choir, but every week they attended two services and Sunday school. Some weekends, Velma and Thelma would take both families camping, which Oher liked because he rarely left the city.

Yet, being separated from the rest of the family felt like punishment.