Highlighting Our Support of Foster Care Involved Youth – August 2024
It is my belief that a big part of success in a child’s life is having supportive relationships with caregivers, mentors, or other trusted adults. As the age-old saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” In the world of foster care, this proverb could not be more true. It takes a whole system of supportive relationships and services to ensure children involved with the foster care system have a chance to achieve their dreams.
Through The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, we are proud to support multiple community partners that serve the 10,000 children in Arizona’s foster care system through a variety of unique programs that, when put together, create the village of support that these vulnerable young people need to remain resilient and ultimately thrive.
A longtime partner of the Foundation, Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona, is one crucial stop on the continuum of service providers for foster youth in our community. Free Arts’ programs engage youth through various arts forms – dance, theater, drumming, painting, and more – to help them process their trauma and begin to heal. The healing that begins at Free Arts allows children to show up more fully in their relationships, and ultimately put their best foot forward on the path toward a bright future.
We know that education is a key part of achieving one’s goals, but that it can be challenging to stay engaged in school without the proper support at home. Another partner, Foster Ed Arizona (an initiative of the National Youth Center for Law), ensures that foster youth in our state are not left behind. They provide each child with an educational champion and education team – the key being long-term, stable support to reach crucial educational goals. It was a no-brainer for us to help fund the final year of this initiative in AZ and we could not be happier that the National Center for Youth Law will be partnering with the Department of Child Safety to ensure that vitally-needed services, which have been proven transformational for students across the state, continue under the state’s Department of Child Safety.
As Free Arts strives to build resilience and FosterEd helps keep educational achievement top of mind, Arizona Friends of Foster Children (AFFCF) works to increase self-esteem in foster youth and empower them to successfully transition into adulthood. Of the 10,000 children in Arizona’s foster care system, nearly 900 age out every year. Our partnership in support of their Keys to Success program is aimed at getting these youth the services they need – employment, housing, financial literacy, etc. – to become self-sufficient and get on a pathway to living-wage employment. This is much needed support at a critical time for these young people.
In a system as massive and complicated as foster care, the issues sometimes appear insurmountable or solutions unattainable. It gives me great comfort to know that there are organizations like those mentioned above, and many more, in our community that are changing outcomes in big ways for vulnerable youth. Bob and I are here to support and thank you for all you do!