CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — According to the foster youth advocacy group, Foster Angels South Texas, 20 percent of youth that age out of foster care will become homeless instantly. That number jumps to 50 percent for those who will become homeless within three months of leaving the foster care system.
In this month's On Your Mind, 3NEWS anchor Leslie Adami, explores how the organization is helping foster youth to start their careers and nurture their mental health as they navigate adulthood.
Marlayna Gallegos is a young adult and former foster youth who today is actively creating a positive change for children currently in the foster care system. She entered foster youth when she was 15 and shared how isolating and confusing it could be for her and her four siblings, unsure of their path.
"My teenage years I had already felt, like a lot of things were taken away from me," Gallegos said. "We go into foster care and I'm separated from my family and now like, normalcy is a challenge and I'm not getting these experiences that other kids get."
Eventually she aged out of foster care and her siblings were adopted.
At the age of 19, she took control of her own story: she moved to Corpus Christi, began working part-time and is now attending Texas A&M Corpus Christi, where she is studying to one day become a social worker.
"I’m just on my career path of doing social work and being an advocate for better systems change and trying to be involved in helping give others opportunities, connect other youth with opportunities the same way it’s being done for me," she said.
She credits much of her growth and healing to the advocacy group, Foster Angels of South Texas. The nonprofit works to help children in the foster care system and those who have aged out, across 19 counties in the South Texas region.
"For a lot of our foster youth, they don't get to experience what we call 'normalcy,'" program manager for Foster Angels of South Texas Heather Tijerina said. "Small things like going to prom, being involved in little league, or boy scouts, or girl scouts, back-to-school shopping, we get to make those opportunities happen for children and watch their eyes light up with joy just like every other child."
Among the nonprofit's many programs, Life Set or Keys to Success, aims to serve youth in foster care those who've just aged out of it, to be matched with resources that can help them as they navigate adulthood. Resources such as mentoring, budgeting, getting ready for job interviews, applying for apartments or even assistance with getting their first car.
"All the things that we do with our own kids, we get to experience those with each of the foster youth we serve," Tijerina said.
The nonprofit also aims to help these children/young adults nurture their mental health, which for some, is for the first time in their lives.
Tijerina said it's as easy as them letting her or someone know that they are interested in therapy, and from there, getting matched with someone who best fits their needs.
"When they were in foster care, the case worker may have told them who their therapist was, but now they get to choose and they get to decide on the relationship they have with their therapist, and that’s very empowering," she said. "It's a low-risk, high-reward situation. They give a little bit and they feel so much better knowing somebody heard them. We’re watching the next generation empower themselves to feel safe and in control of their own story."
Today, thanks in part to the support and guidance of programs such as Foster Angels of South Texas, Gallegos is well on her way to advocacy and using her voice.
This summer, she'll travel to Washington D.C. with an organization called, National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI) to shadow representatives and inform them about the realities foster youth in South Texas face daily. She shared that she's very proud in reflecting upon how far she's come, but she's not done growing yet.
"15-year-old me would think I'm doing a really good job and 15-year-old me would be really proud because I knew at 15 growing up I always knew, I'm gonna do great and I wanna work for people," Gallegos said. "So, I think talking to my 15-year-old self is like just encouragement and giving my 15-year-old self love and that it’s gonna get better."
According to Tijerina, the nonprofit receives anywhere between 30 to 60 requests a week to help fulfill the needs of foster youth in South Texas. These are things that can range from an extra bed, school supplies, new clothes or even in some cases, senior portraits for a graduate, so that the student can wrap-up their senior year just as any of their classmates would.
To get involved with assisting with such requests, you can click here to learn more.
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