Youth Voice

In late December, the nonprofit iFoster hosted its inaugural Great iFoster Bake Off, a national Zoom-hosted competition where foster youth and caregivers teamed up to decorate holiday houses made out of Pop Tarts.

Child welfare services nationwide are undergoing a historic transformation spurred by years of advocacy. Critical to this movement are the voices of those who are personally impacted by these services  particularly young people like me who have experienced foster care.

The year 2020 is almost over and what a year it has been! Several issues and events sparked major outrage and discussions about how those issues affect those who have experienced foster care, homelessness and juvenile incarceration around the world.

We tend to think of legislation arising from rich data, influential advocates and persuasive policy arguments. But that hasn’t always been the case. 

In 1985, Reggie Brown, Harold Fredericks and Joseph Morgan – three young people were discharged from foster care at age 18 and allowed the New York Times to document struggles in living on their own.

There are two stages of response when facing widespread disasters like earthquakes, wildfires or pandemics: relief and recovery. 

Media outlets capture the drama of “relief” – images of brave firefighters battling flames in the smoldering ruins of a town, or the National Guard delivering supplies to afflicted citizens.

More than anything, I want to create a world where youth in foster care don’t have to fear being alone and not having a place to live. That is why I’m attending Cal State Los Angeles, studying to become a social worker.

At my very first job, I remember being continually misgendered, sexually harassed and gaslighted while being exploited, paid under the table, expected to work overtime and never compensated for it, and continually asked to work when we were closed, on our own personal time.

Dear God, Thank you for the care and love that you have bestowed upon my family andme. Thank you for allowing me to live a healthy life and to see your light once more.

Ballots are still being counted and this election feels as if it may “make or break” America. Quite literally. Although we’ve heard countless incidents of Donald Trump’s careless mistakes, I have a gut feeling it is much worse than we ever could imagine.