Former youth in care call for improvements to support system
Credit to Author: Nick Eagland| Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2019 01:42:31 +0000
Former youth in care held a small rally in Vancouver Saturday hoping to help make life better for future generations of people leaving foster care in B.C.
Only 11 people joined Fostering Change Community Organizers’ afternoon rally at Victory Square but they spoke, chanted and petitioned on behalf of thousands of youth currently in ministry care who will age out when they turn 19.
“We’re advocating for changes in policy and legislation, and we want to show the youth-in-care community that we’re here to support them,” said Susan Russell, a campaign organizer with Fostering Change and former youth in care.
The 26-year-old Russell said her group is campaigning for the government to provide universal and comprehensive supports for those youth. This would require improving the Agreements with Young Adults program, which is their primary means of support, she said.
The government has made the program more flexible in recent years but can do more, Russell said.
Before 2016, the program covered costs such as living expenses, child care, tuition and health care while a former foster youth attended school or a rehabilitation program for up to two years, between the ages of 19 and 24.
Youth complained AYAs were restrictive because during any disruption in a program, such as a summer break between school years, the funding would stop, often leaving vulnerable young people without the means to support themselves.
In 2016, B.C.’s children’s ministry expanded the program to continue funding during school breaks, for up to four years and up to the age of 26. Youth in life-skills programs, such as financial planning and cooking, were made eligible to apply for the funding.
In August, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services released its report for B.C.’s 2020 provincial budget which, among 106 recommendations, included: “Broaden eligibility and adopt a needs-based lens for the Agreements with Young Adults program to provide comprehensive, flexible supports to former youth in care.
On Oct. 23 , fostering Change will travel to the B.C. Parliament for its third annual policy solutions day, where former youth in care will share stories and advocate for change in the foster-care system.
“There have been some changes made to tailor it to the needs of the youth, but we’re looking for more flexibility and for the eligibility requirements to be fully removed so it reaches all youth who age out of care, not just some,” Russell said.
“Some youth leave care at 17, 15, and the programs that are there to support them when they age out need to be tailored to the needs of those youth.”
Without that support, they are at increased risk of homelessness, early pregnancy and substance use, Russell said.
There were 6,698 children and youth in care in 2018, according to the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Roughly 1,000 age out each year.
Anita Shen, a former youth in care with Fostering Change, was so terrified of aging out that they left care when they were only 17 years old.
Later, while studying nursing, Shen, 26, came to understand how living in a foster home, safe house and group home had affected their well-being.
“I realized that being in foster care had actually drastically impacted my health, especially my mental health, and I thought that this was something that I needed to explore and learn more about,” Shen said.
“I was feeling this deep sense of injustice about my time in care, and all these feelings that had developed during that time were things I hadn’t been addressing.”
Fostering Change helped Shen understand what they had experienced, and Shen now works to “speak truth to power.”
“We are the children of this government and they have a responsibility to care for us,” Shen said.
— With files from Lori Culbert
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