Young Adult Leadership Board - Fostering Advocates Arizona

Aging Out of Care: The Beauty

June 12, 2019 by FAAZWebAdmin Leave a Comment

Lori, Mentor and Sora, Young Adult Leadership Board Member

I entered foster care at the age of 15. Like most youth who enter care as a teenager, I bounced around to many placements. As a trans-youth, it was especially hard for me to build connections and find a placement where I would be accepted. DCS struggled to continue to find me new placements. It got so bad that I had to spend my 17th birthday sleeping in an office building because they couldn’t find a placement for me. Fortunately, around this time I entered the THRIVE program and was paired with my mentor, Lori, who provided me with much-needed support to help me as I transitioned out of care.

THRIVE is a mentorship program offered through Arizona’s Children Association. It is designed to provide support to youth ages 16 to 21 who have or will be transitioning out of foster care. THRIVE works with young adults to match them with a mentor based off on their interests.

Lori was not my first mentor in this program. Before her, I was paired with a man who ended up being removed from the THRIVE program because he was not helping the youth who he mentored. When I was told they had a new mentor for me, I was very apprehensive. Like many teens in care, I had trouble trusting that someone was there for me. THRIVE thankfully has a trial period to make it easy for youth to decide that a mentor is or is not a good fit, so I took a leap of faith and met Lori, who has since changed my life.

Lori and I were not the perfect pair when we first met. I thought Lori was loud and obnoxious, and she didn’t understand what it meant to be trans. We disagreed on a lot of things, but we both stuck it out and got through the adjustment period, and she since has become a significant support in my life.

I disrupted from a placement at 17, just a couple months before my 18th birthday. Lori took legal custody over me to make sure I could get back on my feet and has continued to be there for me ever since then. She helps me when I need guidance on things like housing or education, and even if we disagree, I know I always have someone I can reach out to and that Lori will set any disputes aside to be there for me. We celebrate holidays together, Lori and her partner take me out for my birthdays, something I never celebrated while in care, and they treat me like family. Young adults in care may have a lot of support from DCS workers, and other program staff, but we all want that personal relationship that a mentor provides. I am will always be grateful for having Lori in my life to provide just that.

This blog was written by Sora, Young Adult Leadership Board Member for FAAZ. You can read more about Sora here.

A New Sun Devil!

July 2, 2018 by FAAZ Blog Leave a Comment

Jesus Ledezma, a member of the FAAZ Young Adult Leadership Board, has been awarded the Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholarship, an award for youth who have experienced foster care and others who face barriers to education. With the assistance provided by the scholarship, Jesus will be attending Arizona State University this fall.

Jesus is passionate about helping others, especially in the area of healthcare. He reflected on the many people who were part of his “team” who helped him get to this point.

I wouldn’t be where I am today without the people who supported me; family, friends, and programs,” Jesus shared.

In addition to pursuing a career in healthcare compliance, Jesus is also enrolling in the Barrett Honors College.

Jesus has worked very hard to become a Nina Scholar. He shared that prior to high school he “hated math, hated pretty much every bit of school.” During his freshman year, he felt motivated to work towards a better life and raised his grades and became very involved in school. He started tutoring other students, even in math, which he found he didn’t hate so much once he did well. He worked on his school’s yearbook and was their Editor in Chief his senior year. Jesus also started his school’s chess club and was inducted into the National Honor’s Society.

For Jesus, these scholarships represent all the hard work as well as his future. “It feels like I’m getting there, slowly getting to the point where I can be successful,” he stated. He views this scholarship as a stepping stone for the future.

Jesus’s advice for other youth who are eager to earn scholarships is to trust the people who are there for you, whether it be friends, family or programs. Most importantly, he said, “don’t screw up your ninth grade year.”

Youth Engagement Conference

June 15, 2018 by FAAZWebII Leave a Comment

Last month, three FAAZ Young Adult Board Members traveled to San Antonio, Texas for the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Youth Engagement Conference. This two-day long event focused on youth voice as the driver behind race, ethnicity, equity and inclusion conversations. FAAZ Board Member, Ashley Pacheco, spoke at the conference and shared her experience.

Ashley believes that engaging young people in these conversations is extremely important. In her opinion, we all come from different backgrounds and while many adults can deliver a moving speech, when it comes from another young person it can help youth feel more connected. In her own words, “authentically engaging youth is really important because it is the foundation on how to talk to youth and how to connect to youth.” Ashley feels that when organizations engage youth directly it demonstrates that they are “not talking for you, but with you.”

Ashley enjoyed several of the guest speakers at the conference. One speaker in particular, Jerry Tello of National Compadres Network, brought Ashley comfort when she found out they were from the same hometown. Even though Jerry didn’t experience foster care, he understood and shared similar experiences growing up a young person of color. In this way, it validated her own personal experiences.

The trip also served as an opportunity for Ashley to connect with her fellow Board Members. They shared their stories and reflected on the commonalities and differences between them. Ashley brings home a greater sense of connection as well as the tools to engage in potentially uncomfortable conversations regarding race equity.

I Speak Change. Youth Speak FAAZ.

April 28, 2016 by FAAZWebII Leave a Comment

ISpeakChangeAdvocacy

The key to making our Initiative great is the talented individuals on the Young Adult Leadership Board. Hear from them on the reasons they joined FAAZ!

“I love being part of the Young Adult Leadership Board because I enjoy collaborating with my fellow Board Members on new ideas to improve the foster care system.” – Maria

“FAAZ has taught me how to use my voice to advocate for youth who have experienced foster care through workshops, trainings, and public events.” – Adrian

WeSpeakAdvocacy

“By building strong relationships with my peers on the board, I have learned that anything is possible for youth in foster care to overcome, despite the many obstacles we face and will continue to face.”- Stefani

“I love being part of FAAZ because I have learned how to share my story strongly and effectively.”-Amber

Speaking-Change-Action

“I joined FAAZ to pay it forward and help children and youth in foster care, just as individuals helped me get to the postivie place I am at in my life.”- Ben

“Being part of FAAZ has allowed me the opportunity to meet a group of amazing individuals that have become very dear friends of mine. I have also learned so much about policy and the importance of speaking your voice to advocate for change at the state legislature.” -Desaray

“What I love is that we all have different backgrounds and experiences yet we advocate for one reason-to improve outcomes for youth in foster care…..and everyone on the board has huge hearts <3”- Patience

“I like being on the board because I can use my experience to help other young parents who are in school, like myself, because I know firsthand the struggle they face.”- Brittany

“By being part of FAAZ I have gained many skills such as advocacy, public speaking, and leadership. As a board we build each other up and become one voice to advocate for kids who are or were in our shoes.”- Ashley

I joined the FAAZ Young Adult Leadership Board because I want to be able to improve the child welfare system in Arizona for all of my foster care brothers and sisters across the state that are currently experiencing what I went through.” – Frank