Elijah R. / Peer support is important

During his time in foster care, Elijah was in group homes. He thinks that they could have done a better job at supporting him and the others in the home emotionally.

He wishes they would have encouraged him to go to events and get outside, because sometimes Elijah felt like he was going crazy. He would have appreciated more chances to socialize.

Moving around so much was anxiety inducing for him. He had to get used to new people and new environments all the time, which made it hard to complete school. It also made it hard to maintain friends, especially because a lot of his schooling was online due to COVID. Peer support is important to Elijah and it would have been nice to have more of this.

In high school, Elijah did art and therapy as a way to keep him from bad habits. He loves photography and puts his focus on school. He also had group home staff that he got along well with.

Something that he experienced was the feeling of being alone and feeling like he wasn’t good enough like the “normal kids.” It took a toll on his mental health, making it seem like no one cared.

The one thing that helps Elijah now is his faith in God: that God is always with him and supports him through everything. He is proud of making it out of the group homes, graduating high school, and enrolling into Riverside City College.

Elijah is currently in school pursing a career in psychology and licensure as an EMT. He sees himself growing his faith and helping other people with their lives. He wants to develop peer groups and grow his motivation.

One piece of advice Elijah has for foster youth in the system now is, “It will all be worth it in the end. The experience is what you make of it and how you perceive it. You can either hate it or grow and learn from it.”