Recently Los Medanos College had a speaker to talk to faculty about the importance of having a program on campus that caters to the needs of foster youth. The amount of passion shown by the attendees of that presentation indicates not only is this program a good idea but it’s also necessary to ensure the success of students who have gone through the system. Even if you can’t help with funding, you should by at least showing support.

LMC used to have such a program until it ran out of funding. Now a group of faculty and professors are banding together to implement a new program specifically designed to help these students assimilate into college life.

According to ChildrensActionNetwork.org, roughly 400,540 children are in foster care. Now that’s a whole lot a young people, who if given the time of day could go on to do great things. Even though there’s a stigma surrounding foster youth, that they’re all troubled or stupid, they can be just as intelligent and inventive as anyone else, especially if they have the money and opportunity to pursue their life goals.

Without proper education or motivation many of these kids will grow into young adults who have no idea what they’re going to do with their life. Many of them end up homeless or dead. Even if you can’t be a foster parent, there are other ways you can help.

At LMC, there are a few things that need to happen. First, there needs to be a written proposal, then there needs to be a discussion specifically regarding general support and funding. If you’re interested in helping out, contact Tue Rust at [email protected].

For more information on how to support the cause in California, go to cacollegepathways.org and sign up for the newsletter.