Graduation ceremonies are opportunities for family and friends to rally around their graduate, congratulating them on their accomplishments while wishing them well in their future endeavors.
This scene played over and over across Colorado during the month of May for the Class of 2009. My attendance at such a ceremony made me realize that many Coloradoans overlook some students — a different Class of 2009, who are not as optimistic about their future and do not have the cheering section other students have.
At this ceremony, the keynote speaker instructed the students to turn around and thank the friends and family who supported and encouraged them.
As the Class of 2009 embraced their family members, I spotted Stephanie, her eyes frantically searching the auditorium for at least one familiar face.
When her eyes caught mine, she hugged me and told me she was glad I had come. She was worried no one would show up for her. In a room filled with mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents and friends, all there to celebrate their graduate, I was the sole person who showed up for Stephanie.
Stephanie is a ward of the state of Colorado. She is a participant in Mile High United Way’s Bridging the Gap initiative, the organization I work for, which seeks to prepare foster youth for a successful transition into adulthood.
She currently lives in a foster home, but will be forced to live on her own within the next year. She is one of over 350 youth who will emancipate from Colorado’s foster care system this year without having a safe, permanent family of their own.
It is this Class of 2009 I would like to call attention to. Stephanie, like most foster youth, has learned to do things on her own and to not to expect support from her family.
Now that she will soon turn 18, her survival is her own responsibility, and not the state’s. Sadly, foster youth do not fare well after emancipation. One in five foster youth will become homeless, one in four will be incarcerated, and one in ten women will become pregnant.
Ironically, May is also national Foster Care Awareness month. Earlier this month two foster youth had the opportunity to shadow Colorado Governor, Bill Ritter.
During a press conference held that day, one of the youth read aloud the formal Proclamation of Foster Care Awareness Month for Colorado.
He read about the State’s commitment to improve outcomes for these vulnerable youth. Whether those outcomes prove true to him and his graduating class, only time will tell; but, he is hopeful to be more than a statistic.
So, during this month filled with so many graduations, I ask that you take a moment to think about what commencement means for the nearly 8,000 foster youth in the state of Colorado.
As they emancipate from the system, their life enters a new chapter too—but it won’t be filled with graduation parties and cake.
Youth like Stephanie will face a tough road, one they will largely have to navigate on their own when their child welfare case closes.
Stephanie will be tasked with living on her own, finding a job, paying her bills, and learning how to manage all these things without the safety net most others have.
Stephanie and these foster youth are part of our community in Colorado. Foster parents, caseworkers, mentors and others are dedicated to improving the lives of these youth every day, and they should be praised and recognized for their unwavering support. Yet, it is not enough.
No, it can never be enough if a child at her own graduation has to warily search for a familiar face in the crowd, knowing that more than likely there is no one there for her.
It is my hope that one day every child will be able to turn around and find the support and love that they need and deserve from their community. It is our job to let these children know we are there for them. I am hopeful for youth like Stephanie and this Class of 2009.
Beth Phillips resides in Denver, Colorado. She works for the Bridging the Gap Initiative at Mile High United Way, which seeks to prepare foster youth for a successful transition into adulthood. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
