February 4, 2025 • 40 mins
Hey Light Shiners! I am joined by Jasmine a former foster youth who has just aged out of foster care. She speaks about life in group homes and how she made a plan to make it out of the system without being institutionalized.
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Watch the Video Podcast HERE!
Check me out on Patreon and get 1 on 1 time to get your questions answered!
If you would like to be on the show please sign up HERE!
Please help us keep shining light on the truths of the foster care system by donating. Please click the link to donate!
Sign up for our monthly newsletter The Ward Connection.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Content warning. The Wards of the State podcast may contain
material that may be harmful or traumatizing to some audiences.
Listener discretion is advised. Heyl Shiners, Welcome to another episode
(00:38):
of Wards of the State podcast. Y'all are just amazing,
Like I really do appreciate the platform that we've been
able to share. The last episode that I recorded, this
girl found me on Instagram because you all know, I
started kind of transferring my content over to Instagram when
we had the TikTok band scare. But we don't really
know what's happening with that, and we recorded the episode.
(00:58):
But then after recording, she shared with me that my
platform was the first time that she heard someone speak
up about the atrocities that happens to children, but also
gives alternatives and gives a solution, or at least some
paths towards a solution. I'm just one person, and I
don't know all the solutions to all of the problems
we have in the child welfare system. I just want
(01:19):
to encourage everybody to listen and to learn and to
ask for reform, rather that be for adoption reform, foster
care reform, societal reform when it comes to benefits and
resources that are offered to first and birth parents. I
just really appreciate that we are able to create a
platform like this, and I appreciate all the listeners and
all the support that we get from you guys. Please
(01:41):
continue to share this podcast with your family and friends.
We are now doing the live episodes on YouTube, so
you can watch the video episodes there as well. But
we really just want to make sure that you guys
just listen, just listen to us. So I appreciate all
the reviews. Make sure you guys are still leaving one, two, three,
four five. I start waiting and reviews on Apple Podcasts
(02:02):
as well as subscribing to us on YouTube and Spotify.
But without further ado, we have our next Lived Experience
person who's going to kind of share their story. Hi, Jasmin,
how are you good?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
How are you today?
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I am fantastic. We've been doing a lot of content today,
so I think you're my last, my last appointment for
the day for content. So I'm excited, but I'm really
I'm really ready to hear your story. And I'm so
sorry for missing our last appointment. We had technical issues.
Oh the worst. The link the link didn't get sent
But I'm so happy that we were able to get
your rescheduled so we can hear your story. So just
start from the beginning, start from how you ended up
(02:38):
in the external welfare system.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
I think that's a great place to start, because that's
exactly where I thought was a great place to start.
So I had a really hard home life experience, didn't
grow up around a lot of money with my parents.
My father was a pedophile. He human trafficked his own children.
(03:05):
He was ended up. The court case leaded to him
finding out he had human trafficked over one hundred women.
I don't know if it was him personally or had
taken responsibility of all the other people involved. So but
for years it was so hard to like almost prove
that in court. It's not an easy thing to prove
in court. So I was always told I don't believe you.
(03:27):
I don't believe you until it came to the evidence,
and then other people were like, yeah, but did he
deserve to go in jail. He had autism, he didn't
know better autism.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yes, you don't continue, no.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
They said, because he had autism.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Like, I'm sorry, argument human trafficked people, because I have autism.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
That's I did not.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Know better, and he didn't have social cues or whatever whatnot.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Do you need social cues to know not to human
traffic and.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
The violence involved is insane. So I don't know, but
that was the biggest argument with me and my family
on this whole thing. I ended up being put in
care at the age of twelve, so it's a hard
age when you're twelve. A lot of kids want a
lot of parents in foster care want little babies and whatnot,
(04:23):
and that's what they go into foster care.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
For and not looking for older teens.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I was passing around a few foster homes. My first
one was really shitty. The parent was an alcoholic. One
of my foster sister's overdose and she was unconscious and
this foster parent takes her finger and drags her around
the mouth by her two fingers. That was her response.
And she worked at a hospital, she should have known
what she was doing. But she was saying she was
trying to throw make them throw up or whatnot, and
(04:50):
it was just it was a disgusting scene and that
was That's something I'll remember forever. But then the thing
that ended up getting me out to the home was
a police report that was made. She beat one of
her childs out of her sleep because she went to
New York City.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
She was nineteen years old. This was her own child.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
But she came back to the city I guess drunk
or whatever, but she had no room to talk. She
was drunk herself coming back from the bar. I remember
hearing her like drunkenly talking on the phone at like
two in the morning. I went back to sleep. Then
I woke up to screaming and yelling. I got between
the altercation because I was like I was at thirteen
at this point in the home, and I was in
(05:30):
my house, the older kid who actually did something about
the abuse when it would happen to my sisters. So
I felt like I when knives were brought out in
this situation, the foster pair brought out a knife, the
sister brought out a knife. When they were brought out,
I got between it because even though I was so
small at the time, in my brain, I was so
big and grown because I was always like taking care
(05:52):
of and protecting my sisters from what was going on.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So then I guess one of the neighbors called the police.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
The police showed up the It de escalated from there,
but of course foster care gets all the reports and stuff.
Funny thing I've learned now talking to my biological mother
is that during that situation when I was removed, when
my mom asked for information, they said that I got
removed because she drank a wine cooler.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Now, speaking of your mom, because you didn't where was
your mom during the removal?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
So my mom, she just she let everything happened. My
father got arrested.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
My mom couldn't really do much to get us back
at that point. She tried her best to get my
two sisters back. But she has my two sisters back now,
not in the greatest situation now, but she tries. My
mom's a single mother at this point. I forgive my mother,
but I wouldn't personally do what she let happen to
(06:48):
my own kids. I would never let it happened to
my own kids. I try to make empathy in the
fact that my mom didn't have any resource since she
didn't know where to go, and the domestic violence was
also happening to her. So I make that excuse for
my peace of mind, even though other mothers say often
like I would never let that happen to my kid,
(07:09):
I would leave the man.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
I don't care.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
There's resources, but like what if my mom really didn't
know a bunch about those resources or she didn't feel
so comfortable when using them. I wouldn't personally, but I
feel you.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So you were in foster care at this home. How
was that situation at that home? I heard that there
were knives and it sounded pretty unsafe. So how did
that foster care home end up going?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
So then they ended up moving me from that foster
home to another foster home, where I was placed for
a week until they could find me a further place.
I remember the foster mom planning on the phone, like
you need to take this kid. I took her from
some extra vacation money that I'm about to go on vacation.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
So then from there I got moved to my third placement.
Mind you, this is like maybe I maybe like three
months into be being in care. Three months of me
being in care, I have already been the three different placements.
So this third placement, I go to. This third placement
I went to, they were just they had multiple kids
(08:09):
at once, just stacked up in different beds, like just
I think she was just genuinely profiting off these kids
because she would feed us nothing but like just the cheapest,
like big like she would make those.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Little craft mac and cheese, feed it all to all
the kids.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Like there was over twelve kids all in one home,
just like just bed to bed to bed, and it
was just not.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
A good situation. But I stuck through it for a month.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
I mean, I was just happy to be in a
safer environment, I guess, so I wasn't too mad about it.
But then from that placement, I got placed to a
more long term placement, which was supposed to be pre adoptive.
It didn't work out. She was a great woman and everything,
but by that point I had so much mental health
issues from the stuff I had went through that I
(08:55):
was very suicidal in dealing with a lot of that.
So the system was like, well, she not being a
foster home. She needs to be in a group home
where she can get therapy and this, that and this.
So that's when my group home journey begins, which was traumatizing.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
It was the first place.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
I was put in was a group home called a WIXA.
I don't remember too much from that placement.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Because I think there was like a lot of trauma.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
From there, but it just got really bad at some point,
so I don't remember too much from there. But my
next experience from there was Parsons, which is a residential facility.
Being put in residential there was a lot of things
I had to like kind of learn, you know, the
kids will take advantage of your vulnerabilities. It's an environment
(09:45):
where they put kids with behavioral issues, people coming from
JD's to a lower level. They shove kids with mental
health issues. They shove kids with all different problems, all
in the same like environment, just to clash heads. And
I feel like that's a big problem with them, is
that when there's these group home environments, they're not separated
by the needs of the child. They're just shoving all
(10:07):
the problematic kids or kids that have some sort of
emotional issues or whatever it is, all in the same environment,
and they don't all need the same treatment. They're giving
them all the same treatment isn't going to work out.
So in this residential there was fights every day. The
kids would pull the fire alarm a lot because it
(10:28):
would unlock all the doors, so they would go and
run around the whole offices with the doors, like just
looking through papers and stuff and just it was a
chaotic environment.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
I guess No.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
That totally makes under That's totally understandable. And when different
group homes. I was in this one group home called
child Haven, and it was very similar. It was just
like there was nobody in control and like the kids
were kind of in control, right, Yeah, and like the
there was like one or two workers that were like
really trying to do their job. Everybody else is just
like they're chilling.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Like they were just yeah, they're like, this is just
my job.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
My job is to write down on paper and send
them up to the next level of care.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
That's what it tends to be.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
So how old were you when you went there?
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I was at that point fourteen years old when I
was put in residentials.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
And how long were you in residential for?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I was in residential for two years, then I ended
up from residential, continuing in group homes until I was eighteen.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
I was I just signed out of foster care this.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Sunday, this Sunday, Just this Sunday, Yes, just the Sunday.
The way do they offer do they offer in New York?
They intended foster Do they offer you extended foster care
in New York? Did you take extended fun?
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Did you take that or did you out?
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I took it as soon as I did at first.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
So then they put me in this apartment program, which
was decent and whatever, but there were so many rules
that continued to restrict me from being able to enjoy my.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Lives and things like that.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
So the supervis independent living program, I'm the problem with it.
I wanted to go have a sleepover with my friends
because I've never had a sleepover being in foster care.
People don't know like being in foster care, every time
you want to spend the night at somebody else's house,
you need, like them to identify that safe person. They
need to know like all the contact, they need to
see their ID.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
And things like that.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
So it can be invasive when I'm trying to hang
out with my college friends who don't really understand the
foster care culture.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
The situation that I'm in.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
So when I'm trying to go hang out with my friends,
all the supproval process for them, so a lot of
the time cancel it last minute. And so I decided
to sign myself out because.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
It had been it was easier to live in their care.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Yeah, they provided the food and everything I needed, Like
I still got a stipend for food, they still had
my apartment, whatever, But I was paying the cost of
not still being able to not live my life, to
just not be able to enjoy those childhood experiences that
I missed out in foster care.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
And I can understand that. I've heard that before from
other people on this show show about how streneous the
aging out process can be, right or not even that,
but like even the extended foster care, you have to
go to college and they expect a full time job,
and then you have to be in this apartment and
sometimes the appartements aren't great and all of these situations
and like you said, the restrictions of your movements. And
(13:19):
I think it's important for us to share your stories
and your experiences because the extended foster care system is
very new, like it's only in the last ten five
to ten years where they're offering these programs. So I
think that's something that we should speak about on how
we can improve the extended foster care programs because before
then there was nothing. You just turned eighteen and they
just put you on the street, Right, So I think
(13:42):
that maybe you know how you overcorrect. They were trying
to correct an issue of a lot of foster youth
being homeless for the eighteen so they did this huge overcorrection.
So like now they're just like, Okay, we're going to
give them all these resources, We're going to have all
of these rules regulations to keep them safe. Right. But then,
like you just said, it's girl, I wait un til
I was eighteen, so I get a hell out of here.
(14:02):
I'm not going to do it for another four years,
you know. So I think if we had a mixture
of having those access to those resources, right, having the
access to help for food and housing in college, but
then also allowing you to be a young adult, you know,
you're eighteen, Like you, it's like nobody wants to live
with strict parents that aren't going to allow of them
to have a sleepover, right, Yes, so we definitely. I
(14:25):
think it is very important for us to have this conversation.
And you've educated me because extended foster care is something
that I advocate for. I think that we should have
these programs for kids. But it's good hearing from your
perspective because I didn't get offered those resources, so I
don't know if there's the strains and the issues with it.
So it's good that you're sharing that with me because
I can now forward that information to the masses and
(14:46):
the people who are running these programs, like, hey, y'all,
y'all need to chill out a little bit, Like they
can't even have sleepovers, Like y'all need to churn out.
So you exited the program? Are you? Are you involved
with your birth parents? And do you rely any other
foster parents that were good to you? Like how is
your situation now?
Speaker 2 (15:06):
So I contact my mom. I still contact her.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
She can't be too much of a financial support because
she's struggling herself, but she's there for emotional support and whatnot.
And then some foster families I just contact time to
time to get in touch with financial support. Wise, I
rely in my college. So I'm in college now, I'm
in a dorm. I'm able to dorm all year round,
even during the recess breaks and whatnot. Because fortunately the
(15:33):
college I go to has a high homeless rate because
it's actually fifty percent of people that go to this
college come from minority background, so they do off. I'm
fortunate to go to a college that offers a lot
of support for the Plus, I'm also through the EOP program,
which is a program Educational Opportunity program which helps pay
(15:55):
off college and whatnot. So I don't pay for my college.
I have to pay like one hundred and forty seven dollars,
which is like.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Nothing, but that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Yeah, but they support me with like food and whatnot,
and if I need like other supports like shampoo and whatnot,
they help support me. And then aside from that, I've
been trying to search around find a job locally, but
in New York it's not as easy sometimes, especially around
the areas that are highly populated with college students, because
it becomes competitive.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Absolutely, Is it better for you socially now, like you're
just like a regular college kid. Yeah, And it sounds like,
you know, the EOP program sounds a little bit like
benefits because you get your dorm, you get foods distants,
you get college assistants. So it sounds very similar to
the of the extended foster care programs. But it sounds
(16:44):
like you just get to be more like less restrictive now.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Yeah, And EOP works a lot with foster youth that's
one of the people that they primarily populations of people
that they accept. So they used to have a specialized
foster youth program, but they've kind of ran low on
foster care applicant because not many of us really graduate
high school and whatnot.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Okay, and then what going back circling back a little
bit into these group homes, what type of experiences I
know you touched on it a little bit, but like,
what type of like experiences did you have in these
group homes?
Speaker 3 (17:16):
So there was a lot of things that happened around
me rather than to me. I was fortunate to have
a good head on my shoulders. What I mean by
like more around me than to me was I watched
most of my peers suffer and it hurt me so
much because I was emotionally intelligent or I was able
to deal with my trauma enough that and I had
(17:39):
enough guidance.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
I feel like that was a big thing. I had
enough guidance. Not all of these girls had a lot of.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Support, and all the support came just from the system itself,
and they didn't trust the system.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
That was the big thing is they don't trust these people.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
And there's certainly people that they have around them to
support them. So a lot of girls eye contact. Even
to this day, have I talked to one of the
girls from one of my group homes. One of them
is homeless. One of them is dead in a car
accident that happened on an a wall. They both they
allsold a car, did not know how to drive a car.
(18:13):
One of the girls that I spoke to from group
homes is one of them is locked up. The other
one she was one girl she's doing okay. One of
my Yeah, I'm just speaking sorry from.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
I'm sorry, I'm getting nervous.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
So being in group homes, it was intimidating. I had
to learn this is what I want to write a
book about one day. I had to learn how to
not become institutionalized in an institutionalized environment.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
And that was the problem with most of youth.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
They were placed in from a really young agent, a
group home environment. There were constant there's this big dog thing,
and there's there's time, there's the scapegoat. In this situation.
There's such a social hierarchy when you're in a group home.
So there there was a lot of like fights and
stuff that like just resulted from tiny things and it
(19:09):
just was because.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
There was nothing to do.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
They had these kids all in the house with all
these issues and not enough things to do, not enough
things to do throughout the day. They went to school,
we came back and there wasn't enough outings on the weekends.
A lot of times the girls would get in trouble,
so we wouldn't have outings or things to work for
on the weekends. So we were stuck in a house
board and that was when the fighting like just begins.
(19:35):
Like you know, I don't even know where a good
place to start with it would be.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
But you sound a lot like myself because when I
found myself in like the trouble teen institution, I was
like thirteen years old and I went to this camp
in Wyoming that was like a trouble teen camp and
like a wilderness camp. And what I learned was like
and I learned from being institutionalized in foster care and
like group homes and mental institutions, the more you push back,
(20:04):
the more it's going. Like the word like you're just
the more you push back, the worst will be. Keep
your head down, stay out of the trouble, and look
at the trouble be around it. But to stay out
of it. Just just mind your business and like stay
under the radar. And it kind of sounds like that's
what you did too, is kind of like mind your business,
stay under the radar, and just kind of know that
you will grow through this as you go through this.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Well.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Yeah, so the way that I learned to separate myself
from that social hierarchy being.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
There.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
What they're saying of me doesn't really matter. I don't
know where this person's going to end up in life.
I don't know what.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
They're going through.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
They're speaking from emotion, and I especially had to remind
myself of that when I turn eighteen, because eighteen is
when kids can take advantage of you're eighteen. I can
hit you if I'm under eighteen, but you can't hit
me because then assault charges come in.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
There's a fit fifteen year old.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
I had to remind myself every time she would just
get angry and she would take it out on me
because I tend to be the quiet one of the group,
and we were friends on and off. In this situation,
your group home friends, they're very on and off. They're
not really your friends. They're very friendly one day and
then the next day they have their have a meeting,
they get aggravated, and now everybody's their enemy.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
But these.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
No, it's okay.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
But this kid had lost their mother, so I was
just thinking of it from a perspective of they just lost.
You know, they're going through a loss, so they're taking
their anger out on me. And a lot of the time,
once I turn eighteen, she would threaten me a lot,
but I.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Kept very low profile. The way I ended.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Up avoiding becoming institutionalizes by separating myself from the group.
Let them say what they say now, because if I
entertain it, it's only going to make it worse.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
If I stay out.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Of it, they'll pass and they'll go find another person
to bother. Because that's really what it's about, is finding
some type of entertainment and challenging the next person and
becoming like boosting whatever ego. And the ego comes from fear.
The ego comes from fear that these other kids could hurt.
It's never an evil thing of any of them. All
the girls are just trying to protect themselves from being scapegoaded.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Or being bullied in that environment, so they try to.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Build up this big shield and of an ego, you know,
so I learned to just stay out of it.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I did my own thing. I was constantly going to
the gym.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
I would go from school, go right to work, and
then I would go to the gym until like ten
pm and walk home at ten pm and just go
right to bed because I didn't want I wanted to
avoid as much conflict as I could.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Now that's when I have freedom in the group home environment.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
When I didn't have that freedom to go to work
and to go to the gym on my own time,
because it was something that takes forever to earn privilege wise,
and when you're in a group home, they don't let
me even walk out the door without a staff by
your side. Otherwise you're usually a wall unless you end
up earning privileges to be.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Able to go out on your own.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
So before, when I didn't have privileges to go out
on my own, it was a harsh environment, and you know,
I struggled more with separating myself. I was getting into
fights as well, and I didn't want to get into fights.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
I want to avoid it, but you try to fight back.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
To get that sense of safety that you can defend yourself.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
I guess I.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Don't know, no, absolutely that makes sense, and I hate that.
You know, I understand why privileges have to be earned.
I just wish that it didn't take such a long process,
or like one thing that I do, especially with like
the kids that I work with, or even my niece
when she was here, I gave all the privileges. Privileges
are removed if you can't handle them right. So you
(23:48):
went very much like you can do you can. You
have all your privileges, and if you are responsible, you
keep them. And if you don't, then we start to
reduce privileges right, and then you can earn them back.
I think that that would be more successful for foster
because a lot of things are already already taken, and
you know, some kids will run away, some kids will
do bad things, but then take their privileges right, right.
(24:09):
Don't start everybody off that no privileges and make you
wait and work so long.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
And even that leads to the issues.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
You know, there's kids putting here into a house full
of people they don't know, they don't have a phone
to contact the people they do know, they don't have
their close relationships or they're closer supports close enough, so
they run away to get a phone. They go on
a walls to get a phone, and once you go
down that route of a walling, it becomes addictive for
a lot of youth. It wasn't for me, but for
(24:39):
a lot of youth. I can understand why. It's just
a sense of freedom. You know, even when I was
walking out on my free time, it's just like so
freeing to walk down the street without so many people
attached to you, like behind you, watching you all the time.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Like that alone time is free. So I can understand.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Why, like one a wall to go get a phone
would lead to constant a walls to go out get
drunk to get that feeling away, or could go get
like some of the girls would even go out to
go seek love. And it was so sad because I
knew this one girl who was just so harshly bullied
by this group of staff we had. And most of
my group homes were okay, but my last group home,
(25:14):
all of the staff ended up getting fired. The staff
were just getting burnt out. We had a really bad
group of girls, but it didn't justify what they were doing.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
They egged on this situation.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
They would egg on these arguments like it was a
reality TV show like toy with these kids' emotions and
watching them fight was an entertainment for them, especially when
they didn't like the kid. They liked to write their
reports down to get them removed as soon as possible.
So we had a group of staff that would egg
on a lot of arguments, which mean girls, and just
start them and tell the girls like leave, walk out
(25:45):
the door, and then proceed to say, this kid ran away.
You just told them they should leave, and they didn't.
Nobody wanted them here. And then you're gonna go right
about how they ran away, and it was like.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
It was and what are they all got fired mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
And at one point ended up leading to there was
a lot of like fights that happened. But there's this
one girl who has like like more of like I
think she had like some type of autism or some
type of disability where she wasn't very aware of social
cues and whatnot. She was going through the staff's shopping
bag giggling. She's like, I'm gonna go through the shopping bat.
(26:23):
She's like, don't touch my shopping bag.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
I will get mad.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
And she was like, I'm gonna go through the shopping
bag and minded these staff went out and shopped by themselves.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Well, one staffs stayed back.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Y'all getting paid like these people are These girls want
to go outside on the weekends, and y'all are getting
paid to go out shopping with just your other staff
buddy and leaving one staff behind. But then we can't
go on outings. This girl is playing with her stuff
and then at some point staff snaps attacks the girl
and the other staff separated her and told the staff
(26:55):
to go home.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Mind you, this was not reported at all.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
I didn't know it was not reported because I spoke
about it in my therapy session or like, wait this happened,
and I'm like, wait, it wasn't reported, dang. And so
they're so quick to report when a kid gets in
an altercation, but not quick to report when another stack
gets in an altercation.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
That's always blaming the kid. Well, Jasmin, we're going to
take a quick break. When we come right back, I
want you to tell us more about your plan on
how to take positive steps to fix the system and
how we can make it a little bit better for
foster youth like ourselves. So we'll take a quick break
and we'll be right back. All right, awesome. Did you
need to take a break to go to the fact
room and get water or anything.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
I'll probably just drinking and smoking.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
That's fine. Hey, listen, you're young. I don't judge. After
you're done, we can just go, I'll redo the countdown
and we'll go right back in.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
All right.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
If you always on TikTok, you can go on a
YouTube right below click the link of the bio you
can watch it live. I haven't figured out how to
stream it live on TikTok yet. I'm working on it.
All right, you ready, Jasmine?
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yes, awesome.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
So we're going to do a quick down five for
three two one. Welcome back light Shiners to the Wards
of the State podcast. Make sure you guys are leaving
a one two three four five star rating reviews on
Apple Podcasts, and make sure you're subscribing to us on YouTube,
where you can now watch the episodes if you want
to join in every Tuesday and Thursday, we usually have
(28:19):
at least one episode a week, so make sure you
are following me on social media. Also, if you are
following me on social media as of today, as if
you're listening to this podcast, there will be a link
in my bio for you to get monthly newsletters. We
are starting out with a monthly newsletter called The Ward Connection,
where we will just be going over like the things
that are happening in the community, some movies, books, podcasts
(28:41):
that you guys should listen to. We will also be
highlighting former FOSSE youth and adoptees every month as well
as just letting you guys know what's the upcoming events.
We have a lot of upcoming events this year, so
make sure you guys are going to the link in
my bio and submitting your email for a newsletter, the
Ward Connection. So, without further I want to get back
to Jasmin's story. So, Jasmin, we heard your story about
(29:04):
you know, your experience with your birth family and your
experience through a few foster homes and group homes. What
do you think we need to do or what type
of from your lived experience, what type of processes or
policy changes need to be made for the environment of
the system for foster youth.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
So the first most important thing that I think would
help all parts of foster care, that is most important
is increasing the budget. The reason I say that is
because nothing is adjusted to inflation. We are taking care
of children and their well being and raising them, but
we're not adjusting the prices that we give them for clothing.
(29:42):
We're not adjusting the prices we put into their outings
and things, but the price the prices are raising everywhere.
So to take care of these youths, we need to
be able to increase the amount of money we are
putting into foster care to continue to do that.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Big thing we need to do is.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Also I feel like promote fostering kids more, especially teenagers.
When we're promoting foster care, we need to include more
teenagers while we're advertising.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Because it's a big population that needs to.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
Be seen and a lot of the time I know
a lot of people who have said they've wanted to
adopt or wanted to foster so bad but just didn't
know how to do it. So we definitely need to
advertise it to better do that, to keep kids that
don't need to be in group home settings into foster
home settings, because this group home trauma just introduces a
(30:34):
home new level of trauma to children that they don't
need to be in. The Lack of foster parents just
keeps increasing, so we just keep putting more and more
kids that don't need to be put through that trauma
into group home settings.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
So there's a conversation right now happening in the foster
care community about returning returning to group home or orphanages
instead of foster homes, because we all know that any
situation can be dangerous. But foster's excuse me, foster homes particularly,
there's no oversighte. So even though you might have some
bad staff at a group home, there is excuse me again,
(31:08):
there is some oversights right and someone to report to.
So where do we, Jesus Christ, I have sneezes, where
do we find the in between? Because I agree with
you we need more foster parents, but not just more
false parents. We need qualified falseter parents who aren't drawing form,
who are doing it for the right reason. I also
believe that foster parenting should be federalized so they can
(31:31):
be federal employees. They can get their own separate check.
I do believe it's a job. I think it's a
job to take care of traumatized children. I think that
will reduce the amount of people doing it just for
the money, because now they actually have a federal job
that they can get consequences for you know, abusing the children,
not treating them fairly, misusing the finance. But what do
you say to people who say, like, hey, we have
(31:52):
too many unregulated foster parents. And at least in group
homes you can one if you have sibling groups, you
can stay with your parents. And then too, there are
more accesses to people who are at first reporters mandata reporters.
You have more access to your mandator reports. What do
you say to that?
Speaker 3 (32:09):
So I think that could work, but the group home
systems would have to be fixed before to make that possible.
And in the group homes, I feel like they need
to be more separated by need. They need more group
homes and more that are separated by need. So they'll
have group homes that like are safe harbor, but then
(32:31):
they'll have group homes that are like just behavioral and
they're throwing kids with mental health issues and kids coming
from juvenile tensions and same environment, same treatment, but needing
different individual as treatment.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
I feel like they also need to.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Like almost decrease the sizes of some group homes because
I felt like the smaller group homes I was in
where there was like five kids at once was better managed.
I mean it was there was multiple houses, but there
was just less kids in that environment, so they got
more individualized care from the staff that were there. So
(33:09):
I feel like there's a lot of work that needs
to be done in group homes before we can rely
on them to take care of all types of kids,
because if we're putting a kid that is, we might
have a little bit trauma. Of course, is being put
in foster care itself is traumatic. Being removed from parents
in general is traumatic for whatever reason you're removed for.
But putting them in an environment with kids that are
(33:30):
coming from juvenile detentions.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Which is my big problem with.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Family Court and the JD system being so close together,
is that they always they send them to the same place,
you know, and you know they have different needs. So
I feel like that could definitely work. But even in
some group homes, they won't take all siblings at once,
So we would need group homes that can do things
like that, And you know, I just feel like there
(33:57):
has to be a lot more money invested into creating
better group home programs and you know, more separated.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
I think that makes no that totally makes sense. The
one group home that I went to, it was girls
and boys, had a girls side and a boy's side,
so we were able to stay together as siblings. But
there are definitely some issues, like some of the ones
that you said kids just fighting and starting issues because
we didn't have any outings. But I think Childhaven did
a great job at least trying their best to make
sure that we were safe and that we had adequate
(34:26):
outings and things like that. So I definitely agree. What
do you are you familiar with? Programs? Like what is
it called Boystown in Nebraska? Like they it's like a
group city group home city, so like they buy like
whole subdivisions and they're like ten to twelve houses. They
have school, and they have a library and a movie theater,
so it's like a it's like a compound for foster
(34:48):
you and everyone. There are volunteers and they kind of
live in homes. You have like these house parents and
they just kind of take care of the kids that
come through the house. But the cool thing about them
is that you can go back once you age out
if you want to, just like go back for holiday
and things. But I have always thought about like instead
of just like facilities, we need to really think about,
(35:09):
like especially how many kids we haven't care if each
city just had like a foster neighborhood like this, this
whole neighborhood is just fostering, and we can really just
make sure that it was separated by homes, like we
can have one home just like really for kids who
just need just light trauma therapy. Other kids you need
like really a lot of intensive care. Right. And then
(35:31):
also I think it'll just create camaraderie because if you
have a community of people who are all looking out
for each other, then yeah, you can go down the
street and go to the park because we're all part
of the same community. So I think that we could
look at that, But like you said, we got to
fix the issues that are currently and even in these
can't we can't increase these size of these programs if
we can't even control them in a small building, right right.
(35:54):
I think that you're very correct, and it's so encouraging
as a thirty three year old man to hear young
young people like yourself who just got out of the
system to have already have these conversations with you and
you guys are thinking of a solution already like that
is phenomenal. I'm yeah, So I'm so proud that, you know,
the generation after mind, you guys are really really coming
(36:15):
up and saying like we're going to do something, and
not only are we just going to complain, we're we're
actually thinking of logical solutions that could work. But you know,
we got to take some steps. So Jasmin I always
ask every guest in the podcast if there was one
thing that you could say or get, a piece of
advice that you could give to a youth who kind
of grew up in your similar situation, what piece of
(36:35):
advice would you give them.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
Don't let your paper define you. They will write shitty
things in your paper that when you're presented to placements
or foster placements and they don't want to take you
for whatever is.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Written in your document. That's not you. That is not
the only things that define you.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Every other kid has their meltdown, So every other kid
has really hard ships, and especially when you're put through trauma,
they're going to.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Be more intense than the normal child.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
Just don't let that impact your sense of self worth
because I let that for the longest that like impact
my self worth and just thinking that I was just
defined by that.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Piece of paper, But that's there in life. People are
going to see beyond that.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
People are not looking at a piece of paper when
you're presented at a job inter view of all the
meltdowns you had through childhood and all the little things
you went through, They're not looking at that. So don't
let that paper define you. That's not exactly who you are.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
I love that. I love that, and I want to
encourage you, and I want to thank you so much
for coming on the podcast AskMen and sharing your lived
experience and just like the reality of some of these
group homes. And I also like that you acknowledge that
there's the system is fixable. We can create a more
positive experience for foster youth. And I think it's important
for us as former foster youth to say that there
(37:54):
is there is way to change, because I think a
lot of people just think of the foster your system like, oh,
it's horrible, it's too bad. We can't change it. No,
we can, we.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
Really we can, but we don't have enough voices out
there that are willing to advocate and do the work
and getting it out to the right people. That's what
it comes down to. I'm trying to go to college
right now to become a policy maker for OCFS, and
then eventually I want to write my own books and
you know, do my own speeches on like what really
needs to be fixed. And I still have a lot
(38:22):
to educate myself on because I have my own experience bias.
But I'm you know, I'm learning as I go, and
I'm hoping to help all ways around the staff and
programs and the kids because in those situations, I've talked
to a lot of staff. I still talk to a
lot of my staff where a lot of the times
it's just what's written on paper that prevents them from
(38:44):
doing what they want to do. So it is the
staff that we're doing the extra going the extra mile
that got in trouble. For going the extra mile. I
knew somebody who went above and beyond in my case.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Telling my mom.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
Thinks she wasn't really supposed to know, but you know,
because my mom actually cared in that situation and the system,
you know, hadn't communicated with her. But she was a
mother before she was a social worker. She was a
mother before she was a social worker, which I think
ended up getting her fired for her trying to do
what was not in her job description. But I still
(39:22):
talk to my staff, so I definitely want to change
in that sense. What more can the people who work
in the actual field and talk to the kids every
day do because those those are the people who work
with them every day and know it's best and they
can't make any type of decision.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
I love that. I love that. And as an author
who speaks and write books on my experience and speaks
at engagements, you already are light years ahead of what
I was when I was your age. So by the
time you get my age, you should be at Congress
running the roost. So I'm so excited to see Jasmine
what you do in the future, and you have my
(39:57):
full support. I encourage you to write your book. I
encourage you to finish your schooling, and you know, as
you're doing that, continue to advocate for yourself and for
a former false season. I want to thank you again
for coming on What Did the State podcast? And I
just want to just say, like I say every week, y'all,
Jasmine is a shining light. But she just inspired me
because it's so great to see young folks just really
(40:19):
just doing the work and understanding that it's going to
be hard, and not coming at it at a negative aspect,
but you really coming at it at a positive aspect
of how we can improve the system. So I want
to thank you so much, Shasman, and I want to
just remind you to always shine your light.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
Okay, love all right, Thank you so much for this opportunity.
Content warning. The Wards of the State podcast may contain
material that may be harmful or traumatizing to some audiences.
Listener discretion is advised. Heyl Shiners, Welcome to another episode
(00:38):
of Wards of the State podcast. Y'all are just amazing,
Like I really do appreciate the platform that we've been
able to share. The last episode that I recorded, this
girl found me on Instagram because you all know, I
started kind of transferring my content over to Instagram when
we had the TikTok band scare. But we don't really
know what's happening with that, and we recorded the episode.
(00:58):
But then after recording, she shared with me that my
platform was the first time that she heard someone speak
up about the atrocities that happens to children, but also
gives alternatives and gives a solution, or at least some
paths towards a solution. I'm just one person, and I
don't know all the solutions to all of the problems
we have in the child welfare system. I just want
(01:19):
to encourage everybody to listen and to learn and to
ask for reform, rather that be for adoption reform, foster
care reform, societal reform when it comes to benefits and
resources that are offered to first and birth parents. I
just really appreciate that we are able to create a
platform like this, and I appreciate all the listeners and
all the support that we get from you guys. Please
(01:41):
continue to share this podcast with your family and friends.
We are now doing the live episodes on YouTube, so
you can watch the video episodes there as well. But
we really just want to make sure that you guys
just listen, just listen to us. So I appreciate all
the reviews. Make sure you guys are still leaving one, two, three,
four five. I start waiting and reviews on Apple Podcasts
(02:02):
as well as subscribing to us on YouTube and Spotify.
But without further ado, we have our next Lived Experience
person who's going to kind of share their story. Hi, Jasmin,
how are you good?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
How are you today?
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I am fantastic. We've been doing a lot of content today,
so I think you're my last, my last appointment for
the day for content. So I'm excited, but I'm really
I'm really ready to hear your story. And I'm so
sorry for missing our last appointment. We had technical issues.
Oh the worst. The link the link didn't get sent
But I'm so happy that we were able to get
your rescheduled so we can hear your story. So just
start from the beginning, start from how you ended up
(02:38):
in the external welfare system.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
I think that's a great place to start, because that's
exactly where I thought was a great place to start.
So I had a really hard home life experience, didn't
grow up around a lot of money with my parents.
My father was a pedophile. He human trafficked his own children.
(03:05):
He was ended up. The court case leaded to him
finding out he had human trafficked over one hundred women.
I don't know if it was him personally or had
taken responsibility of all the other people involved. So but
for years it was so hard to like almost prove
that in court. It's not an easy thing to prove
in court. So I was always told I don't believe you.
(03:27):
I don't believe you until it came to the evidence,
and then other people were like, yeah, but did he
deserve to go in jail. He had autism, he didn't
know better autism.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yes, you don't continue, no.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
They said, because he had autism.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Like, I'm sorry, argument human trafficked people, because I have autism.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
That's I did not.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Know better, and he didn't have social cues or whatever whatnot.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Do you need social cues to know not to human
traffic and.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
The violence involved is insane. So I don't know, but
that was the biggest argument with me and my family
on this whole thing. I ended up being put in
care at the age of twelve, so it's a hard
age when you're twelve. A lot of kids want a
lot of parents in foster care want little babies and whatnot,
(04:23):
and that's what they go into foster care.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
For and not looking for older teens.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I was passing around a few foster homes. My first
one was really shitty. The parent was an alcoholic. One
of my foster sister's overdose and she was unconscious and
this foster parent takes her finger and drags her around
the mouth by her two fingers. That was her response.
And she worked at a hospital, she should have known
what she was doing. But she was saying she was
trying to throw make them throw up or whatnot, and
(04:50):
it was just it was a disgusting scene and that
was That's something I'll remember forever. But then the thing
that ended up getting me out to the home was
a police report that was made. She beat one of
her childs out of her sleep because she went to
New York City.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
She was nineteen years old. This was her own child.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
But she came back to the city I guess drunk
or whatever, but she had no room to talk. She
was drunk herself coming back from the bar. I remember
hearing her like drunkenly talking on the phone at like
two in the morning. I went back to sleep. Then
I woke up to screaming and yelling. I got between
the altercation because I was like I was at thirteen
at this point in the home, and I was in
(05:30):
my house, the older kid who actually did something about
the abuse when it would happen to my sisters. So
I felt like I when knives were brought out in
this situation, the foster pair brought out a knife, the
sister brought out a knife. When they were brought out,
I got between it because even though I was so
small at the time, in my brain, I was so
big and grown because I was always like taking care
(05:52):
of and protecting my sisters from what was going on.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So then I guess one of the neighbors called the police.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
The police showed up the It de escalated from there,
but of course foster care gets all the reports and stuff.
Funny thing I've learned now talking to my biological mother
is that during that situation when I was removed, when
my mom asked for information, they said that I got
removed because she drank a wine cooler.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Now, speaking of your mom, because you didn't where was
your mom during the removal?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
So my mom, she just she let everything happened. My
father got arrested.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
My mom couldn't really do much to get us back
at that point. She tried her best to get my
two sisters back. But she has my two sisters back now,
not in the greatest situation now, but she tries. My
mom's a single mother at this point. I forgive my mother,
but I wouldn't personally do what she let happen to
(06:48):
my own kids. I would never let it happened to
my own kids. I try to make empathy in the
fact that my mom didn't have any resource since she
didn't know where to go, and the domestic violence was
also happening to her. So I make that excuse for
my peace of mind, even though other mothers say often
like I would never let that happen to my kid,
(07:09):
I would leave the man.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
I don't care.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
There's resources, but like what if my mom really didn't
know a bunch about those resources or she didn't feel
so comfortable when using them. I wouldn't personally, but I
feel you.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So you were in foster care at this home. How
was that situation at that home? I heard that there
were knives and it sounded pretty unsafe. So how did
that foster care home end up going?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
So then they ended up moving me from that foster
home to another foster home, where I was placed for
a week until they could find me a further place.
I remember the foster mom planning on the phone, like
you need to take this kid. I took her from
some extra vacation money that I'm about to go on vacation.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
So then from there I got moved to my third placement.
Mind you, this is like maybe I maybe like three
months into be being in care. Three months of me
being in care, I have already been the three different placements.
So this third placement, I go to. This third placement
I went to, they were just they had multiple kids
(08:09):
at once, just stacked up in different beds, like just
I think she was just genuinely profiting off these kids
because she would feed us nothing but like just the cheapest,
like big like she would make those.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Little craft mac and cheese, feed it all to all
the kids.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Like there was over twelve kids all in one home,
just like just bed to bed to bed, and it
was just not.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
A good situation. But I stuck through it for a month.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
I mean, I was just happy to be in a
safer environment, I guess, so I wasn't too mad about it.
But then from that placement, I got placed to a
more long term placement, which was supposed to be pre adoptive.
It didn't work out. She was a great woman and everything,
but by that point I had so much mental health
issues from the stuff I had went through that I
(08:55):
was very suicidal in dealing with a lot of that.
So the system was like, well, she not being a
foster home. She needs to be in a group home
where she can get therapy and this, that and this.
So that's when my group home journey begins, which was traumatizing.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
It was the first place.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
I was put in was a group home called a WIXA.
I don't remember too much from that placement.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Because I think there was like a lot of trauma.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
From there, but it just got really bad at some point,
so I don't remember too much from there. But my
next experience from there was Parsons, which is a residential facility.
Being put in residential there was a lot of things
I had to like kind of learn, you know, the
kids will take advantage of your vulnerabilities. It's an environment
(09:45):
where they put kids with behavioral issues, people coming from
JD's to a lower level. They shove kids with mental
health issues. They shove kids with all different problems, all
in the same like environment, just to clash heads. And
I feel like that's a big problem with them, is
that when there's these group home environments, they're not separated
by the needs of the child. They're just shoving all
(10:07):
the problematic kids or kids that have some sort of
emotional issues or whatever it is, all in the same environment,
and they don't all need the same treatment. They're giving
them all the same treatment isn't going to work out.
So in this residential there was fights every day. The
kids would pull the fire alarm a lot because it
(10:28):
would unlock all the doors, so they would go and
run around the whole offices with the doors, like just
looking through papers and stuff and just it was a
chaotic environment.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
I guess No.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
That totally makes under That's totally understandable. And when different
group homes. I was in this one group home called
child Haven, and it was very similar. It was just
like there was nobody in control and like the kids
were kind of in control, right, Yeah, and like the
there was like one or two workers that were like
really trying to do their job. Everybody else is just
like they're chilling.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Like they were just yeah, they're like, this is just
my job.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
My job is to write down on paper and send
them up to the next level of care.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
That's what it tends to be.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
So how old were you when you went there?
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I was at that point fourteen years old when I
was put in residentials.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
And how long were you in residential for?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I was in residential for two years, then I ended
up from residential, continuing in group homes until I was eighteen.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
I was I just signed out of foster care this.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Sunday, this Sunday, Just this Sunday, Yes, just the Sunday.
The way do they offer do they offer in New York?
They intended foster Do they offer you extended foster care
in New York? Did you take extended fun?
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Did you take that or did you out?
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I took it as soon as I did at first.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
So then they put me in this apartment program, which
was decent and whatever, but there were so many rules
that continued to restrict me from being able to enjoy my.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Lives and things like that.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
So the supervis independent living program, I'm the problem with it.
I wanted to go have a sleepover with my friends
because I've never had a sleepover being in foster care.
People don't know like being in foster care, every time
you want to spend the night at somebody else's house,
you need, like them to identify that safe person. They
need to know like all the contact, they need to
see their ID.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
And things like that.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
So it can be invasive when I'm trying to hang
out with my college friends who don't really understand the
foster care culture.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
The situation that I'm in.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
So when I'm trying to go hang out with my friends,
all the supproval process for them, so a lot of
the time cancel it last minute. And so I decided
to sign myself out because.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
It had been it was easier to live in their care.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Yeah, they provided the food and everything I needed, Like
I still got a stipend for food, they still had
my apartment, whatever, But I was paying the cost of
not still being able to not live my life, to
just not be able to enjoy those childhood experiences that
I missed out in foster care.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
And I can understand that. I've heard that before from
other people on this show show about how streneous the
aging out process can be, right or not even that,
but like even the extended foster care, you have to
go to college and they expect a full time job,
and then you have to be in this apartment and
sometimes the appartements aren't great and all of these situations
and like you said, the restrictions of your movements. And
(13:19):
I think it's important for us to share your stories
and your experiences because the extended foster care system is
very new, like it's only in the last ten five
to ten years where they're offering these programs. So I
think that's something that we should speak about on how
we can improve the extended foster care programs because before
then there was nothing. You just turned eighteen and they
just put you on the street, Right, So I think
(13:42):
that maybe you know how you overcorrect. They were trying
to correct an issue of a lot of foster youth
being homeless for the eighteen so they did this huge overcorrection.
So like now they're just like, Okay, we're going to
give them all these resources, We're going to have all
of these rules regulations to keep them safe. Right. But then,
like you just said, it's girl, I wait un til
I was eighteen, so I get a hell out of here.
(14:02):
I'm not going to do it for another four years,
you know. So I think if we had a mixture
of having those access to those resources, right, having the
access to help for food and housing in college, but
then also allowing you to be a young adult, you know,
you're eighteen, Like you, it's like nobody wants to live
with strict parents that aren't going to allow of them
to have a sleepover, right, Yes, so we definitely. I
(14:25):
think it is very important for us to have this conversation.
And you've educated me because extended foster care is something
that I advocate for. I think that we should have
these programs for kids. But it's good hearing from your
perspective because I didn't get offered those resources, so I
don't know if there's the strains and the issues with it.
So it's good that you're sharing that with me because
I can now forward that information to the masses and
(14:46):
the people who are running these programs, like, hey, y'all,
y'all need to chill out a little bit, Like they
can't even have sleepovers, Like y'all need to churn out.
So you exited the program? Are you? Are you involved
with your birth parents? And do you rely any other
foster parents that were good to you? Like how is
your situation now?
Speaker 2 (15:06):
So I contact my mom. I still contact her.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
She can't be too much of a financial support because
she's struggling herself, but she's there for emotional support and whatnot.
And then some foster families I just contact time to
time to get in touch with financial support. Wise, I
rely in my college. So I'm in college now, I'm
in a dorm. I'm able to dorm all year round,
even during the recess breaks and whatnot. Because fortunately the
(15:33):
college I go to has a high homeless rate because
it's actually fifty percent of people that go to this
college come from minority background, so they do off. I'm
fortunate to go to a college that offers a lot
of support for the Plus, I'm also through the EOP program,
which is a program Educational Opportunity program which helps pay
(15:55):
off college and whatnot. So I don't pay for my college.
I have to pay like one hundred and forty seven dollars,
which is like.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Nothing, but that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Yeah, but they support me with like food and whatnot,
and if I need like other supports like shampoo and whatnot,
they help support me. And then aside from that, I've
been trying to search around find a job locally, but
in New York it's not as easy sometimes, especially around
the areas that are highly populated with college students, because
it becomes competitive.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Absolutely, Is it better for you socially now, like you're
just like a regular college kid. Yeah, And it sounds like,
you know, the EOP program sounds a little bit like
benefits because you get your dorm, you get foods distants,
you get college assistants. So it sounds very similar to
the of the extended foster care programs. But it sounds
(16:44):
like you just get to be more like less restrictive now.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Yeah, And EOP works a lot with foster youth that's
one of the people that they primarily populations of people
that they accept. So they used to have a specialized
foster youth program, but they've kind of ran low on
foster care applicant because not many of us really graduate
high school and whatnot.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Okay, and then what going back circling back a little
bit into these group homes, what type of experiences I
know you touched on it a little bit, but like,
what type of like experiences did you have in these
group homes?
Speaker 3 (17:16):
So there was a lot of things that happened around
me rather than to me. I was fortunate to have
a good head on my shoulders. What I mean by
like more around me than to me was I watched
most of my peers suffer and it hurt me so
much because I was emotionally intelligent or I was able
to deal with my trauma enough that and I had
(17:39):
enough guidance.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
I feel like that was a big thing. I had
enough guidance. Not all of these girls had a lot of.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Support, and all the support came just from the system itself,
and they didn't trust the system.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
That was the big thing is they don't trust these people.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
And there's certainly people that they have around them to
support them. So a lot of girls eye contact. Even
to this day, have I talked to one of the
girls from one of my group homes. One of them
is homeless. One of them is dead in a car
accident that happened on an a wall. They both they
allsold a car, did not know how to drive a car.
(18:13):
One of the girls that I spoke to from group
homes is one of them is locked up. The other
one she was one girl she's doing okay. One of
my Yeah, I'm just speaking sorry from.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
I'm sorry, I'm getting nervous.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
So being in group homes, it was intimidating. I had
to learn this is what I want to write a
book about one day. I had to learn how to
not become institutionalized in an institutionalized environment.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
And that was the problem with most of youth.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
They were placed in from a really young agent, a
group home environment. There were constant there's this big dog thing,
and there's there's time, there's the scapegoat. In this situation.
There's such a social hierarchy when you're in a group home.
So there there was a lot of like fights and
stuff that like just resulted from tiny things and it
(19:09):
just was because.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
There was nothing to do.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
They had these kids all in the house with all
these issues and not enough things to do, not enough
things to do throughout the day. They went to school,
we came back and there wasn't enough outings on the weekends.
A lot of times the girls would get in trouble,
so we wouldn't have outings or things to work for
on the weekends. So we were stuck in a house
board and that was when the fighting like just begins.
(19:35):
Like you know, I don't even know where a good
place to start with it would be.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
But you sound a lot like myself because when I
found myself in like the trouble teen institution, I was
like thirteen years old and I went to this camp
in Wyoming that was like a trouble teen camp and
like a wilderness camp. And what I learned was like
and I learned from being institutionalized in foster care and
like group homes and mental institutions, the more you push back,
(20:04):
the more it's going. Like the word like you're just
the more you push back, the worst will be. Keep
your head down, stay out of the trouble, and look
at the trouble be around it. But to stay out
of it. Just just mind your business and like stay
under the radar. And it kind of sounds like that's
what you did too, is kind of like mind your business,
stay under the radar, and just kind of know that
you will grow through this as you go through this.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Well.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Yeah, so the way that I learned to separate myself
from that social hierarchy being.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
There.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
What they're saying of me doesn't really matter. I don't
know where this person's going to end up in life.
I don't know what.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
They're going through.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
They're speaking from emotion, and I especially had to remind
myself of that when I turn eighteen, because eighteen is
when kids can take advantage of you're eighteen. I can
hit you if I'm under eighteen, but you can't hit
me because then assault charges come in.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
There's a fit fifteen year old.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
I had to remind myself every time she would just
get angry and she would take it out on me
because I tend to be the quiet one of the group,
and we were friends on and off. In this situation,
your group home friends, they're very on and off. They're
not really your friends. They're very friendly one day and
then the next day they have their have a meeting,
they get aggravated, and now everybody's their enemy.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
But these.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
No, it's okay.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
But this kid had lost their mother, so I was
just thinking of it from a perspective of they just lost.
You know, they're going through a loss, so they're taking
their anger out on me. And a lot of the time,
once I turn eighteen, she would threaten me a lot,
but I.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Kept very low profile. The way I ended.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Up avoiding becoming institutionalizes by separating myself from the group.
Let them say what they say now, because if I
entertain it, it's only going to make it worse.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
If I stay out.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Of it, they'll pass and they'll go find another person
to bother. Because that's really what it's about, is finding
some type of entertainment and challenging the next person and
becoming like boosting whatever ego. And the ego comes from fear.
The ego comes from fear that these other kids could hurt.
It's never an evil thing of any of them. All
the girls are just trying to protect themselves from being scapegoaded.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Or being bullied in that environment, so they try to.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Build up this big shield and of an ego, you know,
so I learned to just stay out of it.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I did my own thing. I was constantly going to
the gym.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
I would go from school, go right to work, and
then I would go to the gym until like ten
pm and walk home at ten pm and just go
right to bed because I didn't want I wanted to
avoid as much conflict as I could.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Now that's when I have freedom in the group home environment.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
When I didn't have that freedom to go to work
and to go to the gym on my own time,
because it was something that takes forever to earn privilege wise,
and when you're in a group home, they don't let
me even walk out the door without a staff by
your side. Otherwise you're usually a wall unless you end
up earning privileges to be.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Able to go out on your own.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
So before, when I didn't have privileges to go out
on my own, it was a harsh environment, and you know,
I struggled more with separating myself. I was getting into
fights as well, and I didn't want to get into fights.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
I want to avoid it, but you try to fight back.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
To get that sense of safety that you can defend yourself.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
I guess I.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Don't know, no, absolutely that makes sense, and I hate that.
You know, I understand why privileges have to be earned.
I just wish that it didn't take such a long process,
or like one thing that I do, especially with like
the kids that I work with, or even my niece
when she was here, I gave all the privileges. Privileges
are removed if you can't handle them right. So you
(23:48):
went very much like you can do you can. You
have all your privileges, and if you are responsible, you
keep them. And if you don't, then we start to
reduce privileges right, and then you can earn them back.
I think that that would be more successful for foster
because a lot of things are already already taken, and
you know, some kids will run away, some kids will
do bad things, but then take their privileges right, right.
(24:09):
Don't start everybody off that no privileges and make you
wait and work so long.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
And even that leads to the issues.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
You know, there's kids putting here into a house full
of people they don't know, they don't have a phone
to contact the people they do know, they don't have
their close relationships or they're closer supports close enough, so
they run away to get a phone. They go on
a walls to get a phone, and once you go
down that route of a walling, it becomes addictive for
a lot of youth. It wasn't for me, but for
(24:39):
a lot of youth. I can understand why. It's just
a sense of freedom. You know, even when I was
walking out on my free time, it's just like so
freeing to walk down the street without so many people
attached to you, like behind you, watching you all the time.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Like that alone time is free. So I can understand.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Why, like one a wall to go get a phone
would lead to constant a walls to go out get
drunk to get that feeling away, or could go get
like some of the girls would even go out to
go seek love. And it was so sad because I
knew this one girl who was just so harshly bullied
by this group of staff we had. And most of
my group homes were okay, but my last group home,
(25:14):
all of the staff ended up getting fired. The staff
were just getting burnt out. We had a really bad
group of girls, but it didn't justify what they were doing.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
They egged on this situation.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
They would egg on these arguments like it was a
reality TV show like toy with these kids' emotions and
watching them fight was an entertainment for them, especially when
they didn't like the kid. They liked to write their
reports down to get them removed as soon as possible.
So we had a group of staff that would egg
on a lot of arguments, which mean girls, and just
start them and tell the girls like leave, walk out
(25:45):
the door, and then proceed to say, this kid ran away.
You just told them they should leave, and they didn't.
Nobody wanted them here. And then you're gonna go right
about how they ran away, and it was like.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
It was and what are they all got fired mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
And at one point ended up leading to there was
a lot of like fights that happened. But there's this
one girl who has like like more of like I
think she had like some type of autism or some
type of disability where she wasn't very aware of social
cues and whatnot. She was going through the staff's shopping
bag giggling. She's like, I'm gonna go through the shopping bat.
(26:23):
She's like, don't touch my shopping bag.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
I will get mad.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
And she was like, I'm gonna go through the shopping
bag and minded these staff went out and shopped by themselves.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Well, one staffs stayed back.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Y'all getting paid like these people are These girls want
to go outside on the weekends, and y'all are getting
paid to go out shopping with just your other staff
buddy and leaving one staff behind. But then we can't
go on outings. This girl is playing with her stuff
and then at some point staff snaps attacks the girl
and the other staff separated her and told the staff
(26:55):
to go home.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Mind you, this was not reported at all.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
I didn't know it was not reported because I spoke
about it in my therapy session or like, wait this happened,
and I'm like, wait, it wasn't reported, dang. And so
they're so quick to report when a kid gets in
an altercation, but not quick to report when another stack
gets in an altercation.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
That's always blaming the kid. Well, Jasmin, we're going to
take a quick break. When we come right back, I
want you to tell us more about your plan on
how to take positive steps to fix the system and
how we can make it a little bit better for
foster youth like ourselves. So we'll take a quick break
and we'll be right back. All right, awesome. Did you
need to take a break to go to the fact
room and get water or anything.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
I'll probably just drinking and smoking.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
That's fine. Hey, listen, you're young. I don't judge. After
you're done, we can just go, I'll redo the countdown
and we'll go right back in.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
All right.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
If you always on TikTok, you can go on a
YouTube right below click the link of the bio you
can watch it live. I haven't figured out how to
stream it live on TikTok yet. I'm working on it.
All right, you ready, Jasmine?
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yes, awesome.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
So we're going to do a quick down five for
three two one. Welcome back light Shiners to the Wards
of the State podcast. Make sure you guys are leaving
a one two three four five star rating reviews on
Apple Podcasts, and make sure you're subscribing to us on YouTube,
where you can now watch the episodes if you want
to join in every Tuesday and Thursday, we usually have
(28:19):
at least one episode a week, so make sure you
are following me on social media. Also, if you are
following me on social media as of today, as if
you're listening to this podcast, there will be a link
in my bio for you to get monthly newsletters. We
are starting out with a monthly newsletter called The Ward Connection,
where we will just be going over like the things
that are happening in the community, some movies, books, podcasts
(28:41):
that you guys should listen to. We will also be
highlighting former FOSSE youth and adoptees every month as well
as just letting you guys know what's the upcoming events.
We have a lot of upcoming events this year, so
make sure you guys are going to the link in
my bio and submitting your email for a newsletter, the
Ward Connection. So, without further I want to get back
to Jasmin's story. So, Jasmin, we heard your story about
(29:04):
you know, your experience with your birth family and your
experience through a few foster homes and group homes. What
do you think we need to do or what type
of from your lived experience, what type of processes or
policy changes need to be made for the environment of
the system for foster youth.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
So the first most important thing that I think would
help all parts of foster care, that is most important
is increasing the budget. The reason I say that is
because nothing is adjusted to inflation. We are taking care
of children and their well being and raising them, but
we're not adjusting the prices that we give them for clothing.
(29:42):
We're not adjusting the prices we put into their outings
and things, but the price the prices are raising everywhere.
So to take care of these youths, we need to
be able to increase the amount of money we are
putting into foster care to continue to do that.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Big thing we need to do is.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Also I feel like promote fostering kids more, especially teenagers.
When we're promoting foster care, we need to include more
teenagers while we're advertising.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Because it's a big population that needs to.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
Be seen and a lot of the time I know
a lot of people who have said they've wanted to
adopt or wanted to foster so bad but just didn't
know how to do it. So we definitely need to
advertise it to better do that, to keep kids that
don't need to be in group home settings into foster
home settings, because this group home trauma just introduces a
(30:34):
home new level of trauma to children that they don't
need to be in. The Lack of foster parents just
keeps increasing, so we just keep putting more and more
kids that don't need to be put through that trauma
into group home settings.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
So there's a conversation right now happening in the foster
care community about returning returning to group home or orphanages
instead of foster homes, because we all know that any
situation can be dangerous. But foster's excuse me, foster homes particularly,
there's no oversighte. So even though you might have some
bad staff at a group home, there is excuse me again,
(31:08):
there is some oversights right and someone to report to.
So where do we, Jesus Christ, I have sneezes, where
do we find the in between? Because I agree with
you we need more foster parents, but not just more
false parents. We need qualified falseter parents who aren't drawing form,
who are doing it for the right reason. I also
believe that foster parenting should be federalized so they can
(31:31):
be federal employees. They can get their own separate check.
I do believe it's a job. I think it's a
job to take care of traumatized children. I think that
will reduce the amount of people doing it just for
the money, because now they actually have a federal job
that they can get consequences for you know, abusing the children,
not treating them fairly, misusing the finance. But what do
you say to people who say, like, hey, we have
(31:52):
too many unregulated foster parents. And at least in group
homes you can one if you have sibling groups, you
can stay with your parents. And then too, there are
more accesses to people who are at first reporters mandata reporters.
You have more access to your mandator reports. What do
you say to that?
Speaker 3 (32:09):
So I think that could work, but the group home
systems would have to be fixed before to make that possible.
And in the group homes, I feel like they need
to be more separated by need. They need more group
homes and more that are separated by need. So they'll
have group homes that like are safe harbor, but then
(32:31):
they'll have group homes that are like just behavioral and
they're throwing kids with mental health issues and kids coming
from juvenile tensions and same environment, same treatment, but needing
different individual as treatment.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
I feel like they also need to.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Like almost decrease the sizes of some group homes because
I felt like the smaller group homes I was in
where there was like five kids at once was better managed.
I mean it was there was multiple houses, but there
was just less kids in that environment, so they got
more individualized care from the staff that were there. So
(33:09):
I feel like there's a lot of work that needs
to be done in group homes before we can rely
on them to take care of all types of kids,
because if we're putting a kid that is, we might
have a little bit trauma. Of course, is being put
in foster care itself is traumatic. Being removed from parents
in general is traumatic for whatever reason you're removed for.
But putting them in an environment with kids that are
(33:30):
coming from juvenile detentions.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Which is my big problem with.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Family Court and the JD system being so close together,
is that they always they send them to the same place,
you know, and you know they have different needs. So
I feel like that could definitely work. But even in
some group homes, they won't take all siblings at once,
So we would need group homes that can do things
like that, And you know, I just feel like there
(33:57):
has to be a lot more money invested into creating
better group home programs and you know, more separated.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
I think that makes no that totally makes sense. The
one group home that I went to, it was girls
and boys, had a girls side and a boy's side,
so we were able to stay together as siblings. But
there are definitely some issues, like some of the ones
that you said kids just fighting and starting issues because
we didn't have any outings. But I think Childhaven did
a great job at least trying their best to make
sure that we were safe and that we had adequate
(34:26):
outings and things like that. So I definitely agree. What
do you are you familiar with? Programs? Like what is
it called Boystown in Nebraska? Like they it's like a
group city group home city, so like they buy like
whole subdivisions and they're like ten to twelve houses. They
have school, and they have a library and a movie theater,
so it's like a it's like a compound for foster
(34:48):
you and everyone. There are volunteers and they kind of
live in homes. You have like these house parents and
they just kind of take care of the kids that
come through the house. But the cool thing about them
is that you can go back once you age out
if you want to, just like go back for holiday
and things. But I have always thought about like instead
of just like facilities, we need to really think about,
(35:09):
like especially how many kids we haven't care if each
city just had like a foster neighborhood like this, this
whole neighborhood is just fostering, and we can really just
make sure that it was separated by homes, like we
can have one home just like really for kids who
just need just light trauma therapy. Other kids you need
like really a lot of intensive care. Right. And then
(35:31):
also I think it'll just create camaraderie because if you
have a community of people who are all looking out
for each other, then yeah, you can go down the
street and go to the park because we're all part
of the same community. So I think that we could
look at that, But like you said, we got to
fix the issues that are currently and even in these
can't we can't increase these size of these programs if
we can't even control them in a small building, right right.
(35:54):
I think that you're very correct, and it's so encouraging
as a thirty three year old man to hear young
young people like yourself who just got out of the
system to have already have these conversations with you and
you guys are thinking of a solution already like that
is phenomenal. I'm yeah, So I'm so proud that, you know,
the generation after mind, you guys are really really coming
(36:15):
up and saying like we're going to do something, and
not only are we just going to complain, we're we're
actually thinking of logical solutions that could work. But you know,
we got to take some steps. So Jasmin I always
ask every guest in the podcast if there was one
thing that you could say or get, a piece of
advice that you could give to a youth who kind
of grew up in your similar situation, what piece of
(36:35):
advice would you give them.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
Don't let your paper define you. They will write shitty
things in your paper that when you're presented to placements
or foster placements and they don't want to take you
for whatever is.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Written in your document. That's not you. That is not
the only things that define you.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Every other kid has their meltdown, So every other kid
has really hard ships, and especially when you're put through trauma,
they're going to.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Be more intense than the normal child.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
Just don't let that impact your sense of self worth
because I let that for the longest that like impact
my self worth and just thinking that I was just
defined by that.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Piece of paper, But that's there in life. People are
going to see beyond that.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
People are not looking at a piece of paper when
you're presented at a job inter view of all the
meltdowns you had through childhood and all the little things
you went through, They're not looking at that. So don't
let that paper define you. That's not exactly who you are.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
I love that. I love that, and I want to
encourage you, and I want to thank you so much
for coming on the podcast AskMen and sharing your lived
experience and just like the reality of some of these
group homes. And I also like that you acknowledge that
there's the system is fixable. We can create a more
positive experience for foster youth. And I think it's important
for us as former foster youth to say that there
(37:54):
is there is way to change, because I think a
lot of people just think of the foster your system like, oh,
it's horrible, it's too bad. We can't change it. No,
we can, we.
Speaker 3 (38:01):
Really we can, but we don't have enough voices out
there that are willing to advocate and do the work
and getting it out to the right people. That's what
it comes down to. I'm trying to go to college
right now to become a policy maker for OCFS, and
then eventually I want to write my own books and
you know, do my own speeches on like what really
needs to be fixed. And I still have a lot
(38:22):
to educate myself on because I have my own experience bias.
But I'm you know, I'm learning as I go, and
I'm hoping to help all ways around the staff and
programs and the kids because in those situations, I've talked
to a lot of staff. I still talk to a
lot of my staff where a lot of the times
it's just what's written on paper that prevents them from
(38:44):
doing what they want to do. So it is the
staff that we're doing the extra going the extra mile
that got in trouble. For going the extra mile. I
knew somebody who went above and beyond in my case.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Telling my mom.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
Thinks she wasn't really supposed to know, but you know,
because my mom actually cared in that situation and the system,
you know, hadn't communicated with her. But she was a
mother before she was a social worker. She was a
mother before she was a social worker, which I think
ended up getting her fired for her trying to do
what was not in her job description. But I still
(39:22):
talk to my staff, so I definitely want to change
in that sense. What more can the people who work
in the actual field and talk to the kids every
day do because those those are the people who work
with them every day and know it's best and they
can't make any type of decision.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
I love that. I love that. And as an author
who speaks and write books on my experience and speaks
at engagements, you already are light years ahead of what
I was when I was your age. So by the
time you get my age, you should be at Congress
running the roost. So I'm so excited to see Jasmine
what you do in the future, and you have my
(39:57):
full support. I encourage you to write your book. I
encourage you to finish your schooling, and you know, as
you're doing that, continue to advocate for yourself and for
a former false season. I want to thank you again
for coming on What Did the State podcast? And I
just want to just say, like I say every week, y'all,
Jasmine is a shining light. But she just inspired me
because it's so great to see young folks just really
(40:19):
just doing the work and understanding that it's going to
be hard, and not coming at it at a negative aspect,
but you really coming at it at a positive aspect
of how we can improve the system. So I want
to thank you so much, Shasman, and I want to
just remind you to always shine your light.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
Okay, love all right, Thank you so much for this opportunity.
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