From ILSP Youth to ILSP Staff
By: Jessica Macready, ILSP Community Outreach Consultant
My introduction to the Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) began when Don Graves, then the Outreach Specialist, came to my foster home in Clayton to discuss the program in detail. I was 16 years old and felt that I was already very independent and could handle living on my own if I was just given the opportunity. I had limited job skills, no savings, and was average in academics. Still, I felt prepared to survive on my own.
When Don told me that I could get paid $100 for attending the series of workshops on living skills as well as earn high school credits, I was very excited. Looking back, this was probably the first sign that I was not ready to be on my own considering I thought that $100 was a lot of money - but it sold me on the program. Don went a step beyond discussing the program and wanted to know my individual goals for the future, where I wanted to live after emancipating from foster care at 18, if we wanted to continue my education after high school, what career I was interested in pursuing, as well as my basic interests and hobbies. I remember thinking at the time that I was too young to be thinking about where I was going to live and how I was going to support myself when I became an adult. I felt I had two years to worry about that and two years was an eternity away for me.
I was not nervous about attending the classes because I went with my two foster sisters. I also met other foster youth and felt that we could all understand each other more because of that community. After starting the life skills classes it did not take long for me to realize that I really did not know as much as I thought, and that these classes werre much more valuable than $100. I learned that there was a lot that I need to do at 16 to prepare for adulthood. I used what I learned to get a part-time job, open a checking account, and write checks with confidence. There were other valuable things I took away from the class that I needed more time to practice before I could be on my own, such as budgeting my paychecks, balancing my checking account, and practicing interviewing and cooking skills.
ILSP opened many doors for me, such as my membership in California Youth Connection, a youth-led advocacy group working to change laws and policies affecting the foster care system. I found my role as a leader in this organization and also realized my passion for wanting to make the foster care system better for those coming bahind me. ILSP also helped me find much-needed scholarships when I graduated from high school and moved on to junior college.
Every youth can get something different out of ILSP and put it to use when they emancipate out of foster care. It is important for youth to take advantage of the program by participating in the workshops and getting individual services from the specialists. I got much more than living skills out of the program; I made friendships with outher young people as well as with the staff of the program. I had to make the choice to participate in the program and to take advantage of the services, and I was lucky to have my foster parent support me in attending the program by providing transportation and motivating me to attend workshops. When I was ready to emancipate out of foster care, I felt confident that I had the necessary skills to pay my bills on time, maintain a job, and be informed about college and career choices.
The Independent Living Skills Program was such a huge support for me after I emancipated that I felt it was important to return to the program to ensure that other youth receive the same support, both in life skills and in relationships. After graduating from St. Mary’s College, I began working with ILSP as a Community Outreach Consultant. My role is to connect all emancipating youth with valuable community agencies that will help support them and make them feel part of a larger community. I will also be starting UC-Berkeley in the fall to begin my MSW to fulfill my dream of becoming a social worker.
-From Contra Costa County Foster Families Newsletter, September/October 2005