The Courage Coalition

Facing the Hardship with Broad Shoulders Head High with guest Amara Strong

Corree Roofener Season 2 Episode 75

Some stories punch the air out of the room. Amara’s did. She aged out of foster care, and for years the only people who truly knew her her siblings were scattered. The day she volunteered at a park serving breakfast to the homeless, she saw a face that looked familiar. It was her oldest brother. She was there to serve; he was there to be served. They cried, hugged, tried to make sense of a system that had separated them so completely they almost didn’t recognize one another. “Siblings are not optional,” Amara said. And she’s right. When a child has already lost so much, siblings are an anchor. Our system has to do better at keeping them connected.

Amara’s story pulls back the curtain on what “aging out” often looks like: instability, frequent school moves, temporary placements, and then on your 18th birthday sudden adulthood with all the choices and none of the tools. One in five youth who age out will experience homelessness. We can change that trajectory with practical, trauma-informed support: stable placements; consistent relationships (her CASA was a lifeline); deeper life-skills training that goes beyond the basics; and TBRI-style training for foster parents and for youth, so both understand the “why” behind big emotions and survival behaviors. Stability isn’t a luxury it’s the runway for a different future.

If you’ve ever wondered, “What can I do?”start here: become a CASA, advocate for sibling connections, fund or demand trauma-informed training in your county, hire and mentor aged-out youth, show up with time and presence. Amara defines courage as “facing the hardship with broad shoulders, head held high.” Let’s meet her there. The system may have forgotten too many kids but we don’t have to. Speak up. Get involved. Push for change. Foster youth are not case numbers; they’re our future, and they deserve more than survival.

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Are you ready to walk with us for https:/https://fosteringthesummit.org Join us as we change the statistics for children aging out of foster care.

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Until next time, keep shining bright!

- Corree