Guardians of Social Change

                                                                                        

FMC has launched a paid internship program aimed at creating solution-based journalism that impels change to the foster care system, while  simultaneously providing foster youth training in news media production.

The first cohort will produce five stories about the foster care system over a 13-week period. With the help of BAYCAT, the Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology, and CYC, the California Youth Connection, the interns will participate in digital filmmaking workshop on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30-6:30 pm. During the workshops, the interns will learn filmmaking techniques and video storytelling. They will also work together to produce a news feature story about foster care, which they will develop during the class with the help of FMC and BAYCAT instructors.

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Announcements:

Congratulations to FMC Guardians of Social Change Intern Deandre Brown who won 2nd place in the Represent Magazine “What Is Family?” Writing Contest for Foster Youth! Read his winning essay here.

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Profiles of A Home Within

The Guardians of Social Change spent an afternoon with the staff of A Home Within, a non-profit organization that matches foster youth with therapists free of charge for as long as is necessary.

Each Guardian interviewed members of the A Home Within who serve different purposes for the organization, but have the same mission: to break the cycle of chronic loss experienced by so many foster youth and give every foster child a healthy, stable relationship with at least one caring adult.

Read the profiles each intern created below.

Dr. Heineman Works to Solve Foster Youth’s Problems

By: Ka’Tina Jackson

Growing up as a child, Dr. Toni Vaughn Heineman knew that in life she wanted to fix things that are not right.

Dr. Heineman, a puzzle master, knows what piece of the puzzle is missing for foster youth:  therapy.

“Foster youth need better outcomes in their lives,” said Dr. Heineman.

Dr. Toni Vaughn Heineman is the Founder & Executive Director of A Home Within, a national organization dedicated solely to meeting the emotional needs of foster youth. They recruit licensed mental health clinicians who volunteer to see one foster child in weekly therapy – free of charge, and for as long as it takes.

Dr. Heineman has shined a new light on a foster youth and their previous experience of  stress or trauma. Therapy allows them to open up to someone free of charge and for how ever long it takes, and helps youth build a stable relationship with at least one caring adult.

Since  this nonprofit has began in 1994 they have  changed the outlook for foster youth on how they view or see a therapist.

When people hear the phrase mental health they assume the worst. If your mind isn’t healthy your whole day can be thrown off.

“A Home Within has not only made a direct positive impact on the population we serve, but also become a model for other entrepreneurial non-profits to follow,” said Dr. Heineman.

On May 7, 2012 A Home Within will be rewarded for all their hard work in a the book called “Forces for GOOD.” It’s also known for the Six Practices of High-Impacted Nonprofits.

“ I am very excited to be in this book,” said Dr. Heineman.

Dr. Toni  Heineman and her staff strongly believe in  “ One child, one therapist” for as long as it takes”.

What makes A Home Within different from other organizations that work with foster youth is that they are able to focus on therapy, not paper work. No foster youth should have to move different placements every time they wake up or just get settled. Foster youth still have an emotional baggage that they carry with them daily. Daily, A Home Within is trying to break the stigma on how teens and children should see  therapy.

Dr. von Wiederman, An Artist of A Home Within

By: Jasmine Sandoval

Most artists create a painting or drawing,  and can dance or act. Dr. Wendy von Wiederhold is what I like to call a life artist. She helps people illustrate their own life.  As the Program Director at A Home Within, a non-profit organization which matches foster youth with therapists, Dr. von Wiederhold has worked for about eleven years as a psychologist with foster youth of all ages.

“Adolescents are an absolute thrill to work with; they’re fun, sassy and brilliant,” Said Dr. von Wiederhold.   “It’s an age where they can make a change in their lives.”

Dr. von Wiederhold personally understands how impactful adolescent years are on a person’s life.

“I didn’t go to college until I was in my early thirties,” recalls von Wiederhold.

“I dropped out of high school, got my GED in my early twenties. I took my first physiology class in my thirties, and I was just amazed and so excited by the science and the art of thinking about how to work with people and learn about how the human mind works. I loved to learn about the different art of lifestyles, human connections, and the importance of all relationships,” she said.

Wiederhold said she loves being able to think with people, feel and create meaning about the things that trouble them in areas where they’re stuck in life.

“That’s why I do what I do. I love the fact that here at A Home Within we are helping so many people, former and current foster youth.”

Entering foster care can be a traumatic experience. Statistics and facts show that mental health problems among children in foster care are usually caused by environmental factors, exposure to sex and violence,  and biological factors. Due to trauma associated with high–risk and often dysfunctional family settings, children in foster care are forced into series of adaptations that makes their lives very chaotic. Family, friends, schools, and routines change too often, causing the child a lot of stress and impairment.

“I see first hand the troubles these children face due to not having the proper health care,” said Dr. von Wiederhold.

“My job as a psychologist is only to observe and study my patient. I practice on my patients by hearing their story and giving advice, I don’t medicate. I listen to my patients about how it’s been hard and whether they need to keep going about their life they way they do. Its about the person not the diagnoses,” she explains.

Dr. von Wiederhold and  other therapists across the country who work with A Home Within are doing so much for the community by giving those who need the space to vent and let out stress and issues.  They provide a space to feel safe and at home.

“I love the amazing people I work with here at the office and all over the country,” says von Wiederhold.

Jonas Heineman Uses Social Media To Connect Youth with Therapists

By: Deandre Brown

Too many people go day in and out noticing problems with today’s foster youth, but not many really take the time to stop and do something about it. I had the opportunity to meet with one of the very few who have taken the chance to stop and really think about what  foster youth need in order to live a balanced lifestyle.  Jonas Heineman, Associate Director of Development and Research, works on matching therapists with foster youth for the organization A Home Within.

“Growing up my mom provided me with a stable living environment and I believe that every child deserves to grow up the same way,” says Heineman.

The therapists at A Home Within are all qualified mental health professional who provide for the emotional needs of foster youth. Heineman uses a lot of different ways to reach out to youth by using social media.  Since a major amount of people they work with are teens, he has created a twitter account at @ahomewithin. As of now they have a total of 500 followers. They also have a Facebook account for those who don’t have a twitter.

He works on this daily because he believes “everyone deserves to expect stability.”

A Home Within is the only national organization that focuses on exclusively meeting with emotional needs of foster youth. Dr. Toni Heineman, Jonas Heineman’s mother, is the founder of this amazing business. She is a clinical psychologist treating families in the Bay Area for over 30 years, making her well qualified to assess the needs of those younger and in need of emotional help. She has written many books, including “Building A Home WITHIN: Meeting the emotional needs of children and youth in foster care.”

A Home Within always has someone willing to help, because they believe “one child, one therapist.” At the moment, A Home Within is working on gathering more therapists to volunteer to help all the kids in need so no one has to wait to get help. There are currently 700 volunteer therapists waiting to help the next youth in need.

If any youth wants to know how get in contact with someone to talk to because times are rough, A Home Within can be reached at their website: http://www.ahomewithin.org.  For therapists who want to reach out and help a young foster youth, they can reach the organization at 1.888.898.2249 or admin@ahomewithin.org.

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Previous Articles

New California Law Will Give More Foster Youth A Better Chance at Education

By: Jasmine Sandoval

Foster care is still working on improving its system so that every child and every youth under care can prosper and succeed in life. Housing and education go hand and hand. Education paves a more promising path to a standard future.

According to statistics, children and youth in and out of care experience 1 or 2 placement changes per year on average. Less than 70 percent of youth in foster care finish high school before leaving care. The system is progressively learning, just like our youth transitioning into adulthood. With the passing of AB 12, the new legislation that passed January 2012 which allows youth to stay in care until age 20, it’s looking brighter for the youth coming up in care now and even brighter for the youth in the future.

Deandre Brown, 19 years old, is currently in care and fortunately still attending high school. He entered care at birth and has been in three different placements. He is now old enough to tolerate the poor systematic set up and down falls; he sacrificed staying in his now third placement in order to not move schools.

“One of my struggles I had was maintaining a consistent support system,” said Brown.  “Every new move, new worker, with that it was hard for me to keep track of people and stay in contact. I rely on my school’s support.”

Deandre loves his high school and enjoys his friends and plans to graduate this year, and hopefully take advantage of the new benefits of AB 12.

The stability and the gratification of being stationed in one home are vitally important, especially why trying to maintain the motivation to keep striving for education. Education can serve as a good outlet for a since of belonging and stability.  If child stays in the same home and line of schools in the same environment, school could counterweight the abuse, instability, and separation most youth deal with.

So many young people in care lack love, family support, and advocacy. Most youth only have the system to rely on, so when they feel let down, there could be severe long-term damage. Once you’re a ward of the court, it’s common that a child learns to fend for themselves, and learn to network a family of their own. Most have nobody but the people through the child care services and school.  Therefore, placement is highly important.

 

Teen Mothers In Care Lack Housing Stability

By: Ka’Tina Jackson

Being a new mother should bring joy to any woman of any age. Housing should be the last thing any new mother needs to be worried about. Unfortunely a young teenage mother who has been in foster care and who is still in care has to deal with this issue early.

According to Second Chance Home, teenagers under the age of 18 may face additional challenges finding housing because they are young. A lot of homeless shelters, battered women shelter and transition living programs may not accept teens under the age of 17 and some just don’t accept children.

“Placement in foster care doesn’t always ensure that the mother and child will remain together,” according to a Times Magazine article.

Children In Need of Hugs is a California non-profit that provides housing to teen mothers in foster care. The program was started by Lorraine Hardgrave, who was a homeless teenage mother.  She financed the program with her personal funds and private donations to bring her mission to advocate for runaway and homeless youth into reality.  Their first program opened in 2001 which provided supportive services to homeless teenage mothers and their children in Solano County, California.

“Growing in foster care and being a teenager I noticed there was nothing out there for my population which was sad,” says Hargrave. “Since I have started there have been teen mothers that come and go and there are teens that will stay. These girls want their freedom,” stated Lorraine Hargrave.

Knowing Ms. Hargrave has a home for mothers in Solano is a good thing. But what about the teens in San Francisco with no way to this angel?

Lovely Rosemon, a former foster youth and new mother of a little boy who just turned 5 months on March 29, 2012, says the search for housing has been difficult.

“It’s hard not knowing where my son and I may lay our heads at night which is scary,” says Rosemon. “Some days if we’re lucky by 3pm we can check into a local shelter and be gone by 7 AM the next morning, going back at it again the next day.”

Who would have known that once these children are taking away from their own families by Child Protective Services, they still end up homeless.

 

California Foster Youth Receiving Housing Relief

By: Deandre Brown

To know where you’re going to sleep every night or go to school is not a pleasure emancipated foster kids are always blessed with. It’s a scary idea for many, but steps have been taken to counteract this unfortunate event.

First, a bill was recently passed called AB 12, which extending all foster care services to all foster youth who where 18 before January 1,2010 until their twenty first birthday. According to the Midwest study, those who stay in foster care past the age of 18 are more than twice as likely to stay in school or a program equivalent to school. AB 12 allows youth to access more options for housing, and connections to tutors and child care if needed. One of the many options that are given to the youth is a housing program known as Transitional Housing Program (THP). THP provides multiple choices: youth are allowed to live with a family member who will be provided with a monthly stipend, or they can find their own apartment and up to one thousand dollars will be paid of their rent.  To be accepted they must be in school or working more than forty hours a week.

Foster youth at the Independent Living Skills Program in San Francisco say the passing of AB 12 will help more youth have a better and more stable future.

“We believe if given the chance we can actually go to school and become something instead of filling another space on the streets,” said Steven Escobar.

It’s proven that  laws similar to AB 12 have helped others. In Oregon, foster youth are allowed to stay in care until they are 21 years old. Here in California, this bill will provide many youth with a new start and more opportunities so less foster youth will end up sleeping on the streets.