Geauga County Event, Focusing on Youth Who Lack Family Privilege

The OHIO YAB recently assisted with planning and preparation for a Geauga County event about: "Young People Who Lack Family Privilege In and Out of the Foster Care System”

This event took place on Monday, October 23, 2023 at the Federated Church of Chagrin Falls from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm. 

The focus was on Social Justice Issues for Youth Who Lack Family Privilege:

• Promoting a better understanding of the challenges youth face when transitioning into young adulthood and how community members can support them.

• This includes:
• Those who experience foster care and either reunify or "age out" of it.
• Those entrusted to residential or kinship care.
• Those who are adopted and the adoptions fall through.
• Those who were never in foster care, but still face young adulthood without support. 

• Letting community members know how they can wrap support around youth and young adults in the community who lack family privilege.

Many thanks to:

• Brooke and Melanie of Geauga County Job and Family Services for helping to identify and prepare the two youth speakers, and for sharing about Geauga County resources. They also assisted in facilitated questions and answers portion. 

• Andrea Pollock of Next Step, for sharing her work to support youth ages 18-24 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including youth who have never been in foster care but perhaps should have been.