A lot of former foster children flounder around, wanting to make a difference, but not knowing where to start. Over time, they find their way to others who help them find their spot in the foster care community, starting as an advocate. This is a difficult transition for many, and something alumni usually just stumbled into.
To make things a little easier for future alumni advocates, here are a few tips:
Becoming an advocate is fairly easy to transition into. In most cases, it does not require any special training or skills. It is something that can be done from a local library or school, or even the comfort of your own home. As alumni, you have unique perspectives that can really benefit the cause, and a passion that can inspire others to join in.
There are many different levels of advocacy:
Raising Awareness - This is the role most former foster youth find themselves in. They share their own personal stories, talk about foster care and its impact on the lives of children, and generally try to educate and convince friends, family, and the general public that this is an issue that they should care about. They often end up moving up the scale, but some choose to remain in this stage. This is a very important stage of advocacy, as it usually leads to MORE advocates joining us in working to improve the system, and often inspires people to volunteer, foster, or become child welfare professionals.
Advocating For One (Or More) Foster Children - Many former foster youth find themselves becoming close to one (or more) current or former foster children (usually relatives or foster children in their church, neighborhood, through mentoring, etc). They usually end up advocating for things in their best interest, such as removal from a bad foster home, better education, better medical care, etc. This can often lead to becoming a foster parent to help an individual child.
Advocating For Foster Children In Their Area - Many former foster youth find themselves called to give back or to make things better for future generations in their area, usually the same area they grew up in. These advocates usually later become social workers, CASA workers, or other professionals in the child welfare field. Some choose to volunteer their time instead.
Advocating For ALL Foster Children - Some former foster youth feel called to change the entire system. These are the people that become guest speakers, bloggers/authors, radio personalities, and even politicians or lobbyists to accomplish their goals.
Come back next week for Transitions, Part 2: Transitioning to a Mentor!
Have you made the transition from FFY to Advocate? Did you find these guidelines to be accurate? Is there anything else you would add? Let us know in the comments!