“I want my story to show others that healing is possible, no matter where you start. “

A profound statement, rooted in love and a deep belief in all things good, from educator and activist Victoria Best. 

Now forty-five, Best was thrust into the Philadelphia foster care system after being separated from her biological mother at age 2. On a journey where resilience and survival became necessities, she quickly learned the difference between shelter and belonging after she and her brother were taken in by her uncle’s family.

Victoria felt like an outsider among her cousins, often referred to as “Melvin’s Niece”: “I remember having these conversations, y’all saying we’re going to live here forever,” she recalls. When her uncle eventually decided to sever caregiving responsibilities, shattering her fragile understanding of family, the seeds of survival and mistrust planted early in her life began to bloom. 

Best lacked permanency in the years before she became legally emancipated, cycling between foster homes, group placements, and brief stays with relatives. Her survival lifestyle caught up with her in her late teens after a tragic incident involving her brother, defending her honor, and an older man with whom she’d had a relationship borne out of necessity. 

The outcome was brief incarceration, adjudication, and five years of probation. Reflecting on the traumatic experience, she states, “being incarcerated… I’m not doing this [expletive] again.” Her brother’s longer sentence and her responsibilities as a mother made her realize that mistrust and survival were limiting her possibilities. She became motivated to pursue a healthier future, breaking cycles of trauma and striving toward healing and self-discovery.

Her journey led her to higher education and she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Master’s degrees in Education and Leadership. She credits mentors, especially Professor William Love, for supporting her transformation: “My mentors taught me to turn my pain into purpose—to stop running from my past and start building a future.”

Through her advocacy for justice in the District Attorney’s office and her non-profit work with the Victoria Urban Outreach Tutoring Service (VUOTS), Victoria Best’s urgency in advocating for change is a call to action for all of us. By creating safe spaces, she centers collective empowerment and recognizes the urgency of systemic change. “My mission is simple: to make sure no one else has to feel the isolation I felt,” she says. “[I am challenging] the very systems that tried to break me.”

The systems that tried to break Victoria failed, but not without leaving scars. Through her struggle, a clarity emerged that only healing can bring. She envisions a world where systems support healing rather than perpetuate harm—where healing and safety are our birthrights, and “kids won’t have to fight to feel safe.”

She urges us to heal as individuals and as a collective, reminding us that change includes challenging the systems perpetuating harm. “Healing,” she assures, “is within our grasp.”