Child abuse survivor shares story to empower others
Andrew Edwards was once Tyrone Hill. He changed his name to protect himself.
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It was a traumatic experience that changed his entire life. Now, a child abuse survivor talks with News 12 New Jersey's Amanda Lee about how he is hoping to help others seek their own truth.
Andrew Edwards was once Tyrone Hill. He changed his name to protect himself. More than 20 years ago, he was the victim of brutal abuse for several months at the hands of his parents and cousins who raised him in Newark.
He says that the state's Division of Child Protection & Permanency, formerly known as The Division of Youth & Family Services, or DYFS, failed him. Edwards said, "DYFS was supposed to help us in a situation where they didn't help us, it was going on for months and when they did come out and help us, it was too late."
In 2003, the body of his 7-year-old brother, Faheem Williams, was found wrapped in a towel in the family's basement. Edwards said the abuse suffered by him and his brothers was reported to DYFS before that, but they remained under the same care. "I remember we were getting burned with cigarette ashes," he says. "We were getting beaten, starved in basements, feces, urine, stuffed in bins."
He was then taken into foster care at age 12. Acting Gov. Jim McGreevy settled a class-action lawsuit accusing DYFS of neglecting Edwards, his brothers and dozens of other children. "I changed my name because growing up as a kid, I used to always get stopped on the street, 'Hey you're that little boy who was abused,' 'Hey you're that little boy that was beat,'" he says.
Now he's in the process of reclaiming his birthname and legally changing it back to Tyrone Hill as he works to encourage other survivors of abuse to reclaim their own lives.
He started a business called "For My Brother" to keep Faheem's name alive, and now Tyrone Hill is advocating for other kids in troubled homes. He told News 12, "We're meeting with courts, were meeting with DYFS. My goal is to put a program together where we can mentor children who are going through the same thing."
He encourages people to reach out to him on Instagram under @4mb.973.
