#aging out of foster care

[onceuponafosterkid]

I moved in with my foster parents when I was 15. I don’t live with them anymore, but my apartment is five minutes away from their house and I still see them all the time. I don’t always vocalize to my foster mom when I’m struggling because I know she has a house full of kids to worry about, and I don’t want to burden her. I swear she has this sixth sense though, because whenever I start spiraling it’s like she knows. If it’s been a few days since we’ve talked, she’ll call me and check on me, or invite me over for dinner. She’s even driven over here to pick me up to run errands with them and get lunch, just us. Sometimes I look through our texts and it’s impossible to not see how much she loves me, just from those texts. The other day I finally told her and my foster dad a little bit about what I’ve been struggling with, and they just listened to me vent, and they reassured me, and gave me advice. I’m not her blood, but she knows me better than anyone and I think that’s how she always knows, even without me telling her. I don’t know how she does it, but I’m so grateful for both of them. I know that no matter how messy my life gets, I can always come home to them, no questions asked. This is what foster care is supposed to be. I moved out almost three years ago, but they still save my seat at the dinner table. They don’t adopt kids, they never wanted us to feel like some of us were better than others, and they can’t take all of us. In the 39 years they’ve been foster parents, they’ve raised over 300 kids, but they make sure that I know I will always have a place in their lives. So when I think about what love looks like, that’s what I picture, them.

[ex-foster]

There are several factors that contribute to foster kids aging out of care being more likely to experience homelessness:

1. Lack of Stable Support Systems: Foster youth may lack a stable support network of family and friends, making it harder to find housing and assistance.

2. Limited Life Skills: Some foster youth may not have had the opportunity to develop essential life skills, like budgeting and finding housing.

3. Education Gaps: Educational disruptions can limit their access to employment opportunities, increasing the risk of homelessness.

4. Emotional and Mental Health Challenges: Foster youth often face trauma and mental health issues, which can affect their ability to maintain stable housing.

5. Aging Out Challenges: Aging out of the system typically occurs at 18, leaving them without a safety net and transitional support.

6. Lack of Financial Resources: Financial instability and limited resources can make securing housing difficult.

7. Discrimination and Stigma: Foster youth may face discrimination in housing and employment due to their backgrounds.

8. Lack of Access to Healthcare: Limited access to healthcare and social services can exacerbate health issues and increase the risk of homelessness.

Addressing these challenges through improved support systems, education, and mental health services can help reduce the risk of homelessness for foster youth aging out of care.

[fokikowest]

These L.A. foster kids defied the odds when they aged out: ‘This isn’t the end of my story’

These L.A. foster kids defied the odds when they aged out: ‘This isn’t the end of my story’

[hazel-callahan]

Ruby Cruz in AGING OUT (2018) — dir. Chester Milton

[tiffanybluesclues]

Every week someone makes a post about how annoying it is that Dick Grayson fans don't acknowledge his flaws, and every week someone replies with an explanation that the flaws OP listed are entirely fanon and inconsistent with canon as it actually happened and at this point I have to assume that none of those explanations are ever going to stick because clearly some people just want the fanon to be true.

Anyway, I'm just putting this here for me to edit and add relevant-to-the-topic links later so I'll have them nicely at hand to read and sooth my frustrations when it gets real bad out there. (Echo chambers are good when we use them to drown out character mischaracterizing fanon.)

[snufkinsnogger]

Does anyone else have like, a "real world" version of their FO? Like, how'd they look if they existed in our world and how their lore would translate into our reality?

[lobotomizedlady]

a shelter for young women who are about to age out or have recently aged out of foster care opened up just about 2 miles away from my house so I'm going to go there sometime this week & see if they accept volunteers . it's great that someone opened a place like this bc they are a particularly vulnerable group when it comes to sex trafficking

[welcometogrouchland]

idk how I developed the hc that Raine and Darius were briefly foster siblings in their last year of highschool. But I did. And now I think about it 24/7

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

your tags on parenting make me super emotional <3 that's exactly the kind of parent I want to be one day

Thanks! I feel the same way honestly. I have a lot of opinions about parenting and I can't say that I will be the perfect parent because that doesn't exist. I can't even say that my hypothetical future kid/kids will be perfect because children don't grow in a vacuum. I can only control what I do and say and try to be the best version of myself and hope for the best.

[queerstudiesnatural]

google search what to do when your student calls you their best friend and wants to hang out with you during recess instead of their peers

[onceuponafosterkid]

Something I learned growing up in foster care is how to be quiet. Being quiet kept me safe when I was living in an abusive home, and being quiet in foster care allowed me to keep my placement. It made me one of the “good kids.” Now that I am adult, I don’t know how to take up space. I’m so used to doing what I’m supposed to and keeping my opinions to myself all the time. But you don’t make friends like that, or build relationships. Now I’m trying to teach myself that it’s okay to take up space and that I deserve to be wherever I am. I deserve to be at those social events. I deserve to have an opinion. Sometimes I feel like I’m different from “normal” people because I lost so many of the experiences and opportunities kids and teenagers are supposed to have. But someone told me the other day that by telling myself that, I’m sabotaging myself and selling myself short. By having that mindset I’m missing out on opportunities to build relationships and make friends. I have to start acting like I deserve to be there just as much as everyone else. It’s a strange concept and it’s hard to rewrite my brain. It was also hard to hear, but it’s absolutely true.

[ex-foster]

There is a serious culture shock when you age out of foster care that is rarely spoken about.

People in the "real world" don't care about your trauma like social workers or mandated reporters have to because their income depends on it.

You might feel like you need to vent about your trauma to people (especially on the advice of self-help books or therapist advice) but your peers are not people who went to school for social work. They don't know what trauma informed care is, in fact many people in these careers are still in the process of learning about trauma informed care.

You exist foster care and feel profoundly alone in a dangerous world.

[beesarthur]

ok friends, how do i make my way into the one career i was born to (continuity checker for a long-running tv show)???