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Jackie: Persevere Until Success Happens (Part I)

Release Date: 02/24/2021

Emily Dang: Fostering Success After Foster Care

Aged Out: The Stories that Built Us

Emily Dang shares valuable knowledge and insight on working with transition-aged and aged-out youth. Emily has over 18 years of experience in child welfare and is passionate about and dedicated to serving foster youth. Emily’s episode is a must-listen for anyone wishing to learn about this uniquely vulnerable population and the resources they need. Emily’s advocacy for these youths is an inspiring listen! If you are a former foster child who aged out of the system and want to share your story, email us at ! You deserve to be heard. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter! Credits: •...

Kassandra Villarreal: It’s Only Going to Get Better from Here

Aged Out: The Stories that Built Us

After being abused and mistreated for many years, Kassandra entered the foster care system at age fifteen. Kassandra considers herself lucky – she got to have a job, go on dates, and have a normal high school experience while in foster care. She decided to go to college and eventually felt called to become a Counselor so she could help others. She now has a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Kassandra Villarreal is a devoted Counselor, driven by her passion to support parents, children, and families through individual and...

Jimmy: From Foster Care to the Courtroom

Aged Out: The Stories that Built Us

Jimmy, a previous interviewee on this podcast, entered the foster care system at age 7 and was placed in 6 different foster homes. Despite having a rough upbringing, Jimmy has now graduated from the Texas Tech University Law School and is a successful Commercial Litigator. In this episode, Jimmy details the advantages and disadvantages of going to law school as a foster kid, and he shares about the mentors who helped him along the way. He discusses his current involvement with the foster care community and explains why his legal practice does not center around the foster care...

Donetia: We are Works in Progress

Aged Out: The Stories that Built Us

Donetia Meshack entered foster care when she was 11 months old. She was in care for 17 years, where she transitioned through many homes and had only intermittent contact with her birth family. Between elementary school and graduation from high school, Donetia attended seven different schools. Despite the instability that she faced, Donetia loved to learn, and she went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree from SMU and a Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School. After law school, Donetia worked as a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles and operated a private practice as a criminal defense lawyer....

Tina: Community Saves

Aged Out: The Stories that Built Us

Tina’s story is one of community and being in the right places at the right time—or as Tina would say— miracles. After being removed from her mother’s home at the age of 16, Tina was placed in a group home. The structure became too much for her and she ran away. For a period of time, she lived on the street, couch surfing with former schoolmates, and in a house where she feared she would be trafficked. She was able to escape and luckily ran into her boyfriend’s sister who took her to their parent’s house. There she was caught hiding in his closet by a man who showed her kindness...

Rob Scheer: Foster Care to Founder

Aged Out: The Stories that Built Us

Rob Scheer shares his inspirational, full circle journey in this can't-miss episode. Rob experienced the foster care system as a youth, and is now a dedicated advocate for other youth in care, a veteran, a husband, a father of children previously in care, an author, a podcast host, and the founder of an impactful non-profit, Comfort Cases. Rob shares his personal insights into the foster care system and how his lived experiences guide the work he does today. Drawing on his experiences as a child who had to carry around a trash bag full of belongings from placement to placement, one of Rob's...

Bob: Not the "Property of Texas"

Aged Out: The Stories that Built Us

Bob’s story is one of resilience and regaining control. Bob first came to America from Ukraine at the age of 5. He was adopted into a family who subjected him to horrible treatment, until finally at the age of 12 he entered the foster care system. Bob went from placement to placement until he was adopted by his third placement. However, after being adopted, the relationship between Bob and his adoptive family crumbled. For many years, Bob had hardly any sense of control over his own life. He was told where to go, how to act, and who he was as a person. He even found out that his birthday had...

Candace: It Didn't Happen to You, It Happened for You

Aged Out: The Stories that Built Us

Before graduating with her associate degree, to now working with patients with dementia and suicidality, Candace was teenager navigating her life in the foster care system. Faced with the hardship and heartbreak of being left by her biological family, Candace found hope in the system after being placed with a foster family who showed her unconditional love, support, and the unbreakable bond of family. This went on to change her life and the outlook she had on the system. In the face of adversity, Candace found her voice in the world and used the obstacles she faced as fuel to...

Ryan: A Story of Survival and Self-Discovery

Aged Out: The Stories that Built Us

Before finding his place in the world, Ryan faced unimaginable hardships. Raised in an unstable environment, his early years were marked by turmoil, as he grappled with his identity amidst the backdrop of foster care. But adolescence had an unexpected twist in store for him. Faced with a life-altering decision, Ryan had mere minutes to choose between living with his aunt and uncle or remaining in foster care. The weight of this decision hung heavily over him, even today Ryan considers how this decision had the power to redefine his entire future. In the face of adversity, Ryan found the...

Betty: A Light Shines in the Darkness

Aged Out: The Stories that Built Us

Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Betty moved to the United States with her father and younger sister when she was nine years old. When Betty was seventeen, her father went back to Africa, leaving Betty and her sister behind in foster care. Relying on her faith, Betty prayed for a loving home that would keep her with her sister. Betty feels incredibly lucky to have been placed with foster parents that she now calls family. Betty feels that foster kids are unfairly stereotyped as “bad kids” and she wants people to know that they are more than just a kid in the system. Now in...

More Episodes

In part I of Jackie's story, we learn that his parents were addicted to drugs and alcohol resulting in the removal of their children. Jackie describes how as a toddler, he and his siblings were dispersed into the foster care system, and the difficulties they experienced in even getting to see one another. After facing abuse and heartache in a number of homes, Jackie was finally adopted into a loving and supportive family. Be sure to come back to listen to Part II, which we will publish on March 18.

If you are a former foster child who aged out of the system and want to share your story, email us at [email protected]! You deserve to be heard.

Credits:

Jackie Davis
Recording team: Taylor Michals & Jacqueline Juhn
Recruiting: Ayu Fitzgerald
Editor:
Editing team: Alyse Cicio & Christine Tran
Interviewer: Niki Akhaveissy
Music Credit:
- Nostalgia” by Tobu https://soundcloud.com/7obu
- Creative Commons – Attribution 3.0 Unported – CC By 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
- Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/03Aky9bhOMU

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SMU or the W.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation

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