“I’ve been to so many schools–I don’t have any life-long friends,” admits Angelica, a former foster youth now in her twenties. In this video, Angelica shares her story and her perspective on what it is like to grow up in the foster care system, where she never had a voice and where there was no one who felt obligated to have her in their life.
At age 13, Angelica was introduced to Peace4Kids, a community-as-family nonprofit in the Watts-Willowbrook area of Los Angeles. Peace4Kids was founded by Zaid Gayle as a place for foster and at-risk youth to build a solid foundation for growth through programs in creative expression and life skills. Here she learned how to write and develop her voice.
Angelica’s story demonstrates how critical it is to provide foster youth a place where they can find stability and community–a place where they feel safe enough to thrive.
“I’m privileged to have this burden because now I’m able to refine my character in such a way where, you know, I’m strong, I’m independent, and not only that I can relate to a lot of other people,” Angelica says.
This video was produced by The Storyboard Project, an online documentary web-series created by Mira Zimet and Eric Weintraub. The series gives former foster youth a place to share their stories, ensuring their voices are amplified in the media and ultimately challenge and transform the narrative of who is a foster child.