Imagine the excitement of visiting a European city, but without the accompaniment of an interpreter or tour guide to help you along your journey. How quickly an experience of a lifetime can leave you feeling vulnerable and frightened. Such can be the case for many older teens leaving the foster care system without the proper tools or connections to help them navigate young adulthood. While the prospect of living on one’s own usually generates thoughts of freedom and independence, for a young person without adequate means and resources, this can be a very overwhelming and daunting task.
It is no surprise there is a shortage of foster families willing to take in older teens. Young people can be set in their own ways and be resistant to help from others. They have minds, which have already been largely molded. Older teens can present as being less in need compared to their younger counterparts; however, this could be no further from the truth. There is so much a teen needs to know before setting off for adulthood if they are to be successful and productive, and foster parents can assist with this.
Advantages of fostering a teen:
- Helping mold and encourage a sense of independence
- Helping a teen building relationships and developing trust
- Helping a teen succeed educationally and begin to make their dreams become a reality
- Helping a teen learn and figure out who they are and what they want to become including talks on politics, education, career, dating, and the latest new music
Teens leaving foster care with no family or connections are much more likely to fail than to succeed in life, and every day they can face unknown and frightening situations. Much like the tourist in a strange land without a guide, a foster youth often has no one to help guide and encourage them, which can only result in feelings of fear and anxiety. The world can be a very lonely and scary place for a young person with no viable support network. However, having one or more caring adults to provide emotional, moral and yes, sometimes financial support, can greatly increase a teen’s ability to navigate young adulthood with confidence and certainty. A young person’s future depends largely on the guidance and encouragement received from those who have successfully traversed through adolescence into adulthood. How can you help?
Become a foster parent, support foster care organizations, support foster parents in your area, and advocating for reforms that encourage foster children to live normal childhoods to become productive adults.
The Children’s Home of Reading is in desperate need of foster and adoptive families throughout Berks and the Greater Lehigh Valley. Monthly information sessions are held in English and in Spanish the first Wednesday of the month from 5-6pm. To make a reservation, or learn more please contact 610-478-8266 ext. 491 or visit www.buildingkidslives.org .
by Maryann Cicale, Permanency Supervisor
The Children’s Home of Reading
