South Los Angeles program reaches out to foster youth
Christine Trang | 5-16-2010 | Comments |
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Ashley Williams does not know her father because she is a product of rape. Her mother, a drug addict, physically and verbally abused her. This constant abuse resulted in her placement within the foster care system at the age of 10. By the time she completed eighth grade, Williams lived in 26 different foster homes and attended 36 different schools.“I struggled a lot with my place, with what I wanted to do in my life,” Williams said. “But strangely enough, foster care became my strength. It helped me learn to become independent."
Now, Williams is a sophomore at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a 3.3 grade point average in Sociology and education. Her next goal is to obtain both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in social work. For now, she spends much of her free time working with the Bruin Guardian Scholars Program, one that helps former foster youth at UCLA navigate their college experience.
“We help these students with financial issues they may have, living situations they may have, finding them different scholarships they may need, counseling, just different things that former foster youth didn’t get as a child, but still need as an adult,” Williams said.
But when Williams first applied to UCLA, she did not have access to any files she needed.
“As a former foster youth moving from home to home, I have always had a piece of me left behind,” Williams said. “I have never had my birth certificate, social security card or any school documents.”
This message echoed during Williams’ speech at the first annual Living Advantage, Inc. Honors Luncheon Saturday, but also resonated throughout several other testimonies given by former foster youth. However, for the past five years, the Virtual Assistant Living and Educational (VALE) program has offered foster youth access to online data storage, and a secure portal, where they can maintain personal and vital life documents.
“It should be mandatory for foster youth to have their life documents electronically stored, so no matter where they are, these vital pieces of their lives will be available to them through the benefits of the worldwide web,” said Pamela Clay, executive director of Living Advantage, Inc.
About 100 foster youth and community members packed the University of Southern California’s Galen Center, where Clay focused some of her attention on the 17-year-old organization’s mission, one that promises to help eliminate unemployment, homelessness and incarceration of youth in the foster care system. “The stress level of our foster children is three times higher than that of a war veteran,” Clay said. “Even though their survival skills are extremely high, because they have to figure out how to make this thing called life work, regardless of their family upbringing, regardless of whether they have a roof over their heads, regardless of whether they have clothes on their backs, they still sometimes need guidance and help.”
Why Clay got into Living Advantage, Inc.:
But most of Clay's attention shifted to the many community individuals, organizations and elected officials who have worked to enhance the image of foster youth in Los Angeles. Congresswoman Diane E. Watson received an award for her more than 35 years of work with those in the foster care system. During her speech, she stressed the importance of education.
“People can take your shoes away, they can steal your clothes, but they can’t take your education away,” Watson said. “So get it, because we live in a competitive world, and to be competitive, you have to be part of the future. 'Google,' 'Twitter,' these are all code words for how to get through today, so learn those code words.”
California Assembly Speaker Emeritus Karen Bass, who did not attend the luncheon, and Assemblyman Mike Davis also received awards for their dedication to foster youth.
Living Advantage, Inc., which started as a six-bed group home, will feel the effect of multiple budget cuts, Clay said.
“Your governor,” Sen. Curren Price joked, “I mean, our governor, proposed some unconscionable cuts, cuts that effect youth, poor families, those who are struggling and need help. We just can’t stand by and let that happen.”
Before the $80 million budget cut to foster care in California, Living Advantage, Inc. received funding from the government, several foundations and multiple corporate sponsors. But now, the organization receives most of its money from individual donors. "We also do a lot of fundraising, including dinners, skating parties and trips," Clay said.
But despite the budget cuts, some remain fully committed to supporting foster youth. Alana Ethridge, a former Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? contestant, plans events to help raise money for foster youth in both Los Angeles and San Diego.
"I am honored and proud to be a very small part of what goes on in the Los Angeles area, especially because there are so many foster children here," Ethridge said.
Why Ethridge got involved with foster youth:
Rashad Pennywell, a former foster youth, says he will eventually start a mentor program for other foster care children.
“I want to let them know about resources we have available in the system, how to get their birth certificates, their identification cards and the basic necessities they need to be accomplished in this world, because it’s very tough,” Pennywell said.
Why Pennywell entered the foster care system and what he has accomplished:
Though Ashley Williams pushes foster youth to accomplish their goals, she also stresses the importance of cooperation among community members.
"Making birth certificates and other vital records inaccessible for foster youth strips them of an essential human right to have knowledge about themselves," Williams said. "If everyone who works with foster youth embraces this type of program, there will be less of a struggle for youth who already have enough obstacles to overcome."
Tags: christine trang foster youth living advantage, inc. south los angeles vale program