Each year about 30,000 young people who have been in foster care age out of the system, usually at age 18. While the number of children in foster care overall has declined in the past decade, the number leaving the system without a single safe and caring adult in their lives has skyrocketed. More than half leave foster care without their high school diplomas or GED. More than half experience homelessness in the first year of aging out. Less than 3 percent go on to higher education and of that number only 3 percent graduate with a four-year degree. More than 70 percent of the people in our prisons report having been in either foster care or homeless shelters. Young people who have formerly been in foster care have the highest rate of unemployment in the nation other than people with disabilities. This cycle of despair must be stopped now. We cannot afford to turn our backs on teens who have been through more than most people can imagine and expect them to create a productive, joyful life.
I’ve seen the magic that happens when a teen in foster care knows someone believes in her or him. With just a little bit of time and love invested, kids blossom. They find their voices, dare to dream and work to secure their goals. I cofounded the Orange Duffel Bag Foundation, the only nonprofit in the nation that does certified life plan coaching with teens in foster care and homeless youth. Our 12-week coaching course, based on the principles in My Orange Duffel Bag: A Journey To Radical Change, teaches kids to tell their stories and be proud of what they’ve overcome. Then we teach them to identify their talents, what they are good at and how to formulate a new story. The final lesson is all about giving back and being grateful. A family of advocates gets to know the kids during the classes and maintains contact with them after they graduate. When they graduate, each is awarded a laptop computer, because they need connections.
Many of them have missed out on so many of the social opportunities that are naturally available to kids who aren’t in foster care. The rules that teens in foster care live under mean that they often miss school field trips, they cannot spend the night with a friend, and they may not get to participate in afterschool activities or sports. The sense of belonging to a community of people who have a shared history can be empowering. We’ve seen a support system spring up among the students who go through our 12-week coaching program. There’s a sense of pride and camaraderie.
Right now we are in Georgia, but our dream is to take our coaching nationwide. We’ve graduated 100 young people and delivered a sample of our coaching to more than 2,000. Several ODBF graduates are now in college, which is remarkable when you understand the barriers these young people face.
Consider becoming a respite foster parent. Offer your skills as a tutor at a group home, which is where most teens in foster care live. Donate school supplies and help kids study for the ACT/SAT. Get your company or an organization to adopt a group home and spend time. Offer internships. Donate tickets to events to a group home.
What teens in foster care need is what we all need: to know that someone out there cares.
Reddit user Girlfriendhatesmefor’s three-year-old pitbull, Otis, had recently become overprotective of his wife. So he asked the online community if they knew what might be wrong with the dog.
“A week or two ago, my wife got some sort of stomach bug,” the Reddit user wrote under the subreddit /r/dogs. “She was really nauseous and ill for about a week. Otis is very in tune with her emotions (we once got in a fight and she was upset, I swear he was staring daggers at me lol) and during this time didn’t even want to leave her to go on walks. We thought it was adorable!”
His wife soon felt better, butthe dog’s behavior didn’t change.
Girlfriendhatesmefor began to fear that Otis’ behavior may be an early sign of an aggression issue or an indication that the dog was hurt or sick.
So he threw a question out to fellow Reddit users: “Has anyone else’s dog suddenly developed attachment/aggression issues? Any and all advice appreciated, even if it’s that we’re being paranoid!”
The most popular response to his thread was by ZZBC.
Any chance your wife is pregnant?
ZZBC | Reddit
The potential news hit Girlfriendhatesmefor like a ton of bricks. A few days later, Girlfriendhatesmefor posted an update and ZZBC was right!
“The wifey is pregnant!” the father-to-be wrote. “Otis is still being overprotective but it all makes sense now! Thanks for all the advice and kind words! Sorry for the delayed reply, I didn’t check back until just now!”
Redditors responded with similar experiences.
Anecdotal I know but I swear my dog knew I was pregnant before I was. He was super clingy (more than normal) and was always resting his head on my belly.
realityisworse | Reddit
So why do dogs get overprotective when someone is pregnant?
Jeff Werber, PhD, president and chief veterinarian of the Century Veterinary Group in Los Angeles, told Health.com that “dogs can also smell the hormonal changes going on in a woman’s body at that time.” He added the dog may “not understand that this new scent of your skin and breath is caused by a developing baby, but they will know that something is different with you—which might cause them to be more curious or attentive.”
The big lesson here is to listen to your pets and to ask questions when their behavior abruptly changes. They may be trying to tell you something, and the news may be life-changing.
Throughout history, women have stood up and fought to break down barriers imposed on them from stereotypes and societal expectations. The trailblazers in these photos made history and redefined what a woman could be. In doing so, they paved the way for future generations to stand up and continue to fight for equality.
While conspiracy theories are not limited to any topic, there is one type of event that seems particularly likely to spark them: mass shootings, typically defined as attacks in which a shooter kills at least four other people.
When one person kills many others in a single incident, particularly when it seems random, people naturally seek out answers for why the tragedy happened. After all, if a mass shooting is random, anyone can be a target.
