Complicated Situation, read on please.

Hi, so I have a complicated situation. My Mom had five kids, I’m the oldest. Things were pretty good when my grandma was alive. She took good care of us and even though we didn’t have a lot of money for anything extra she loved us very much. My grandma passed when I was 16. We had to move out and were on the streets of San Diego for awhile. My Mom is a drug addict. And she steals to get drug money. And she would always make us steal for her. We bounced all over because when she would have a warrant, or owe someone money we would take the bus to Las Vegas or Chicago. But always end up back in San Diego. She had this thing where she would tell us to wait here and she’d be back in 10 minutes. It was usually a park bench or something like that. She never was 10 minutes but she came back eventually. One day she told us to wait on this bench at a do it your self car wash. The hours ticked by and she wasn’t back. I was 16, my bio brother 13, then 10, 7, and 6. Well the little kids were getting hungry so I kept praying that she’d be back. It was now at least 15 hours since she left. I went to a McDonalds and got some stuff out of the trash for the kids. But I tore off the part that had a bite mark. And then I ate the ketchup packages and sauce cups. It was at this point I was super worried that this wasn’t getting better. She eventually came back for us probably 36 hours later. She knew we would never tell anyone what was going on because she told us foster care abuses kids, and it’s a terrible scary place to go. When we weren’t on the streets we were staying at random people’s houses. It would make me so nervous because there were uncapped needles all over and I didn’t want my younger siblings picking them up thinking they were toys and sticking themselves. We eventually got temporary housing. And about three weeks later she left and never came back. I had just turned 17 so I got a job to request I take the GED so I worked when the younger kids were in school, but it was minimum wage and we were so broke. I was still scared of the foster care system. But I knew they deserved child hoods. So I went to the case manager at their school. And San Diego Youth Services pocked us up. The couldn’t find placement for all five of us together but my bio brother and I stayed in one foster home. And then went to another foster home that was interested in adopting us. It was a two Dad family that I thought was cool. They had two bio kids and two adopted kids. My brother ended up being adopted but I wasn’t because they were worried that I would interfere in raising their children. I guess they meant that I was so used to cooking and cleaning and taking care of kids they didn’t want that which is totally fine! I completely understand. My bio brother messaged me on FB. I had no idea who he was but I figured it out. He goes to Georgetown for college. I’m so proud of him. He’s travelled all over the world, done so many amazing things. He asked when you graduated and if I’m in grad school. 🤣 He wants me to come over for thanksgiving. I’m hanging in there working and going to school but I’m living in a bridge shelter. How do I get through to him that we don’t live the same lifestyle? Thanks!