A Spark of Inspiration Part 3: Do What You Think is Right

All good things must come to and end, and this is the end of our interview with Sir Aaron Mason of Becoming Sir! Here he gives advice for all the advocates out there sharing their story to help our younger brothers and sisters in foster care. Make sure you like the Becoming Sir Facebook Page!

JUSTGeorgia Crew: What advice do you have for youth about sharing their experiences with the foster care system?

Sir Aaron Mason: The advice that I give for sharing your story would be to do what you feel is right. Do not put much thought into what someone my think of you; you never know who may here it or who may be touched by it. 

I use to find myself reluctant to disclose certain details of my experience in fear that I may hurt someone. However, if I am able to inspire the thousands of kids out there in foster care then does it really matter what hard feelings one person may have. 

In addition, always keep in mind why you are telling your story. I remind myself everyday that I am doing it to encourage all the children out there in foster care or who just need a little encouragement to not give up; you can still make something of yourself, but it takes work! Knowing why I am doing this helps me through those tough days where things may not be going as planned.

A Spark of Inspiration Part 2: Prove all the Doubters Wrong!

This is the second part of our interview with Sir Aaron Mason, director of Jay's Legacy Youth Wellness Center and author of the Becoming Sir blog. If you haven't yet checked out his story, read our review here! In his latest post Quality vs. Quantity he touches on the "negative stimga" that foster care carries and shares an experience with a staff member at a group home that was short-lived but tremendously impactful.







EmpoweMEnt's JUSTGeorgia Crew: How have the stereotypes surrounding foster care impacted you personally?


Sir Aaron Mason: Stereotypes of children in foster care have had significant impact in my life. Many times people count foster children out not thinking that they would amount to much. Seeing that there were people out there whom thought that I was destined to fail instilled a desire within to want to succeed. Their doubt became my fuel for success. 

My ability to overcome the many stereotypes that people view of children in foster care has also helped me in my professional career. When interviewing for a job, I do not hesitate to share my background. Many supervisors out there especially in the human services field see countless cycles of failure amongst the children they serve, when I sit down with them and tell them, “hey! I have been through what these kids are going through, I have overcame the obstacles that they are facing, and I have made something of myself”, they are reminded why they really began working in Human Services field in the first place. 

So, work hard to break through those barriers and stereotypes of foster care and make something of yourself, prove all the doubters wrong!

A Spark of Inspiration: Author of Becoming Sir

If you haven't yet seen the Becoming Sir blog, it's a must read for all advocates and allies. For advocates (those of us who have experienced foster care directly), the experiences shared may hit close to home and are expressed with and admirable amount of honesty and mindfulness. For allies, an impressively balanced depiction of life in the foster care system can be found here.

Its author, Sir Aaron Mason, recognizes the assistance that geniuenly caring professionals provide and exposes what he calls a "culture of superiority and dominance"  in the foster care system. He speaks candidly about the abuse he endured at the group home McLaren Hall, and the loving Ms. Emma who worked as a staff there. He touches on the stigma that the foster care system carries, and the emotional distance he found after returning home with his biological mother. In his first post Am I Protected?, Aaron writes, "When Child Protective Services removes a child from an unsafe environment, it is common practice to place them in a safer environment then the one he/she left. In many instances, this does not happen." 

Aaron was kind enough to share some words of wisdom as a fellow advocate and this is what he had to share with the EmpowerMEnt family. The interview that follows was so informative, we will share it in a three part series!

JUSTGeorgia Crew: What inspired you to begin telling your story in this way?


Sir Aaron Mason: 
For a while, sharing my story was just a dream. Periodically I would tell my story to random people I came across and they were touched… They would recommend that I write a book… I would jokingly say things like “it’s already a best seller”, or “you haven’t caught my movie on life time?” In all honesty, I just did not know how to get my story out there.

Well one day, while working at the youth center that I direct, I began to engage a few of the youth in a conversation a bout their lives. This conversation included all kinds of things from legal troubles to their relationship with their parents and siblings.

They were really down on themselves. They had pretty much lost the desire to overcome all the crap in their lives. I took notice to their lack of hope and chimed in with my experiences. I pured my heart out to these kids for about an hour and you can see their whole attitude change. One of the kids replied… “Wow what I am going through isn’t anything… I can most defiantly get through this.”

For a few days, this experience set with me. I start thinking of all the children out there who have given up hope. How these children do not have any real examples of true struggle and success. Just seeing how my story relinquished hope with the youth I worked with inspired me to get working on a way to reach all the other children out there who just need a little spark of inspiration to get them back on track.

I began to research different ways of getting my story out there and stumbled onto Google Sites. It was perfect, just what I needed, and it was FREE! I purchased a domain name and there you have it!

Psychiatric Druging of Foster Kids

Join the Team!!!

As EmpowerMEnt's JUSTGeorgia Initiative we are just a part of a youth-led organization that supports, educates, and trains our brothers and sisters in foster care. Learn more about the Vision of our Leaders and what EmpowerMEnt is all about!

Our JUSTGeorgia Initiative is working hard to promote an understanding of the issues that youth involved with foster care and the juvenile justice system face and the passage of the Children's Code Rewrite. You can join our team of Advocates and Allies just by sending us an email at JUSTGACREW@gmail.com!

National Foster Youth Action Network

The National Foster Youth Action Network is taking the success of California Youth Connection (CYC) nation-wide. According to their website, the NFYAN "equips, trains, and empowers foster youth to take leadership in advocating for their interests in improving the foster care system." This year they announced the Virginia Youth Advisory Council as their fourth partner. Learn more by watching the video below, checking out their website, or liking their facebook page!

Celebration of Excellence

Especially for those who just left this year's Higher Education Institute, a look back at 2010's Celebration of Excellence! This video is from the Center for Sustainable Journalism and features EmpowerMEnt's own Adrian Hawkins!

Did You Know: Cradle to Prison Pipeline

 Did you know that Georgia spends 2 times more money on prisoners than public school students? Learn more by reading the Children's Defense Fund's Crade to Prison Pipeline 2009 Fact Sheet

Consensus Organizing Training

Last month EmpowerMEnt had the opportunity to learn about Consensus Organizing when trainers from the Consensus Organizing Center at San Diego State University came to Atlanta. (Thank you Jennifer & Jen!) The method is currently being used for their Foster Youth Initiative that over 180 of our brothers and sisters in California have participated in, and 80% have gone on the college. The Consensus Organizing Model was created by Mike Eichler and it empowers communities through building partnerships with likely and unlikely partners.

Here's EmpowerMEnt's JUSTGeorgia team hard at work! You can like the Consensus Organizing Center on Facebook or read some of their publications here.

Governor Deal Supports Childrens Code Rewrite

According to a recent press release from JUSTGeorgia, Governor Nathan Deal and others already support the Child Protection and Public Safety Act (a.k.a. the Children's Code Rewrite, SB 127, and HB 641.)  “The time has come for us to rethink how our state is responding to children who have found themselves in trouble with the law,” said Governor Deal. “I applaud the careful thinking and inclusive engagement that has gone into developing the Child Protection and Public Safety Act.”

Did You Know: Job Training for Incarcerated Youth

Did you know that incarcerated youth rated job training as the most helpful service they received inside or outside a detention facility? Read more here to see the study What Incarcerated Youth Say Would Help Them Succeed: Can Extension Play a Role in the The Journal of Extension. The study was conducted in two youth detention centers in Nevada and was published in 2002.

Foster Care Alumni Surveys

Have an opinion on what changes to the foster care system you would like to see a national organization, The Foster Care Alumni of America, advocate for? Would you like to see your organization's, or your own volunteer work recognized? Participate in these surveys by clicking here.

Did You Know: Cost of Incarcerating Youth

Did you know that incarcerating youth in a juvenile justice facility costs an average of $240.99 per day per youth? The Costs of Confinement: Why Good Juvenile Justice Policies Make Good Fiscal Sense published by the Justice Policy Institute in May 2009 explains how alternatives to placing youth in youth detention centers can save states money and make communities safer.

A Powerful Voice-Our Ally Michael Piraino

Michael Piraino is the CEO for the National CASA Association and he has written several pieces for the Impact section of the Huffington Post that are of great significance to youth and former youth involved in the foster care system. His posts include Homeless for the Holidays, A Nation of Volunteers and most recently, The Overmedication of Foster Kids.

A post he made this March after the national CASA conference entitled Fulfilling our Fundemental Obligation is a powerful call to action.  He states, "The time has come for us to honor our society's most fundamental obligation and to ensure the right of every child -- even those who enter foster care due to abuse and neglect -- to be safe, to be treated with dignity and respect, and to learn and to grow in the embrace of a loving family." EmpowerMEnt's JUSTGeorgia Initiative is thankful for the powerful voice and ally we have in CASA's like Michael Piraino!!!

ILP, APPLA, WTLP...HUH? Youth Aging Out of Foster Care in Georgia

Here's another video full of information about Georgia's foster care system. It was made by the Georgia Child Welfare Legal Academy in 2009.

First Judge Vincent Crawford of the Juvenile Court in Dekalb County explains aging out of the foster care system or what they call "the least deisred permanency option."

Next Ms. Ebony Harris the Director of Georgia's Independent Living explains the ILP program. Skip to 45 minutes to hear her EmpowerMEnt shout out!