Do you ever wonder about the life of that homeless person you see pushing a shopping cart full of all of his/her belongings? Do you ever wonder about their life circumstances, what was their childhood like, and where is their family? Do you ask yourself if this is the result of poor decision making, or if they are victims of some unmanageable circumstance? What about when we see women and their children homeless?
With every homeless person that I see, I am reminded that there is a 30% chance of that person being a former foster care child.
What is most overwhelming is that there are over 500,000 children across our country in the foster care system. Because most of us can’t visualize a half a million of children, let me help you. Think about the NFL Championship Game, “The Super Bowl”. It is very easy to picture the stadium filled with screaming fans. Now, imagine that those fans are crying children. Now, imagine over six (6) super bowl football stadiums filled with children – that is how many children across this county are in our foster care system. Those are a lot of hopeful futures that might not be realized, wouldn’t you agree? Let’s not mention the 20,000 young adults that leave the foster care system annually without the skills or a plan to live successfully. To compound the problem even greater, add that 80% of our prison inmates have also been through our foster care system. Just in case you have not done the math, 30% of 500,000 equals 150,000 future homeless children and 80% of 500,000 equals 400,000 future prison inmates.
It is obvious that we all need to do a better job regarding the success of this population of children!
Think about the youth that we serve in our foster care system. Children mostly enter this system for reasons of abuse, abandonment, neglect, and other hardships. The consequence of years of poor living conditions is often emotional and educational delays, anger, distrust, and poor decision making. It is little wonder that when they become young adults and are looking for employment; society and corporate-America do not have patience for their limitations. Is this not a true case of blaming the victim?
The objective of F.I.R.S.T. Contractors is to use the introduction to enterprise and construction industry trades, via job readiness training as vehicles to promote transferable employability and life management skills.
Every dollar of support makes a real difference in improving the odds of success for one of these young people. Though mere words can never truly represent our appreciation for the support and consideration of our partners and future partners, please accept our humble Thank You for your support regarding this most critical matter!
Larry L. Lindsey
Founder / Executive Director