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Entering foster care as an infant due to neglect, she returned to her parents’ care before permanently entering care at 14. [After I lived in my first foster placement], my parents were able to take me back, and when I was about 14, I entered foster care again because I was being physically harmed. I feel like it’s tougher for youth who don’t have a mentor; you don’t know who you can talk to. My foster mom is from the West Indies, my foster sister is Latina; there are so many worlds that opened [because of my time in care].

With the ongoing support of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada funding, TAWNYA, 20, will graduate from Durham College as a Dean’s List recipient and with a Diploma in Human Resources. Determined to enter post-secondary school, TAWNYA received a Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada scholarship and landed an internship in human resources through the Foundation’s Element Youth Capital Program. I think it’s important for youth from care to have these opportunities, because first of all there’s a stereotype about youth from care that they’re not trustworthy and all that, and secondly, everyone needs a support system, and for a lot of youth they don’t have that support system in place. If we don’t support youth from care, they’re going to be part of the cycle of having children in the care system or being on welfare.

CHANTAL, 25, is an advocate for youth in and from care and now directly supports youth in care through her role as a child protection worker, with the same agency that had once been responsible for her care. Struggling to make ends meet, CHANTAL relied heavily on the support of her social worker, but was eventually able to find stability and, with the support of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada funding, achieve a post-secondary education. Even though there have been a lot of challenges in growing up in care, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of Children’s Aid. I think just wanting to have a better future laid out for my own family, knowing I wouldn’t have the familial support and children’s aid funding, was a drive.

An advocate for other youth from care, JUSTIN is a graduate of Seneca College’s business management program, which he completed with support from Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada funding. Entering foster care at the age of 12 due to his mother’s challenges with addiction, he moved between kinship placements and struggled to build his identity and sense of stability. I think my experiences in care helped me understand what it means to really care for someone through the good times and the bad times. Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada has been able to support me in terms of educational funding.