GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — Foster care can provide support and connection for those in the system — but what happens to those who age out and are left without that support?
Foster Alumni Mentors (FAM) is a program that works with individuals 16 and older who have either aged out or were adopted out of foster care, providing resources and mentorship.
"We're looking at what they're wanting to do and then helping them navigate through all of that."
Founder and Executive Director Kimberly Raff tells WesternSlopeNow she had the idea to start FAM while working in child welfare. She noticed many exiting foster care didn't have a big support system, returning to their former case managers seeking guidance and connection. Raff says because caseworkers continue to have a full caseload, it's difficult for them to be able to continue helping those who've aged out of the system and are no longer a part of their caseload.
"I started thinking about it like, what resources are there out there for them?"
Raff's own experience as a former foster kid also informed her decision to start the program.
"I felt alone. I felt like nobody understood what I was going through or where I was coming from because I didn't have anyone to help guide me."
Raff says it's important for foster alumni to have connections with people who understand what they've been through. "It's one of those things where you feel disconnected from everybody else. You feel like your peers are so far ahead of where you're currently at in your own life, in your journey."
While Mesa County has the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program to provide ongoing resources to those currently or formerly in the foster care system, it has an age limit of 23 — unlike FAM.
"We don't have an age cap because you don't age out of a family."
FAM provides those in the program with the chance to learn life skills — such as how to file taxes or budget for the month — but that's not all FAM provides for its mentees.
"Monthly we get together and do what we called FAM time, where it's just something fun out in the community for them to connect with their peers and build out their support system with individuals that they connect with."
While FAM provides resources to those in the program, Raff sees the program more as a way to provide much-needed connection and mentorship to those who have been through the system.
"They don't constantly hear 'we believe in you,' 'you're capable,' 'you got this,' and so it's something that we're able to provide for them, just a different outlook on life."
Raff tells WesternSlopeNow FAM has helped nearly 200 former foster youth since it was established in September 2017. She says she enjoys everything about being involved with FAM — but if she had to choose a favorite part, it would be watching the individuals in the program grow and come into their own.
"It just warms my heart to see them start to believe in themselves and see what opportunities are actually out there, that they are capable and they have the support and the love and that our community loves on them, too."
Starfish Gala
Foster Alumni Mentors will hold its inaugural Starfish Gala May 11. Raff tells WesternSlopeNow the newly established event title came from FAM's logo — which in turn, came from what she calls the starfish story.
"It's about the old man walking along the beach and he's picking up starfish and he's throwing them out in the water. And this younger man comes along and he says 'What are you doing? There are thousands of starfish on the beach. You can't possibly save them all.' And the man bends down and picks one up and throws it out in the water, and he says 'Well, I just saved that one.'"
Raff says the gala will be one of the biggest fundraisers they've ever done. "It'll be based around making a difference in the community, a difference for each individual that we serve and all the individuals that are out there that could continue to need our services."
Raff says FAM is always looking for volunteers and donors. Those looking to volunteer, become a part of the 'FAMily', or just looking for more information — can visit the FAM website, call 970-234-3519 or email info@fosteralumnimentors.org.