February 13, 2007 09:44 pm
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By SCOTT NILES
Courier staff writer
OTTUMWA — A group of local foster kids is trying to make the system better for future generations by telling their stories.
Joanie Elder, one of the adult leaders of the “Elevate” group, said the goal of the program is to inspire.
The group travels around the area sharing their stories to numerous different political, social and civic groups. The group does not focus completely on change, but they want to tell their stories and better the foster system in any way possible.
Last session the Des Moines “Elevate” group met with some politicians and convinced them to adopt a bill that would allow children aging out of the foster program to stay under care until the age of 21 instead of 18.
This year, they are also working on a bill that would allow siblings going into foster care to stay together rather than be separated.
Elder said the group wants to express the message that the foster system can be good.
“I am a former foster child,” she said. “A lot of times, people are scared, especially for the teens, thinking it is their behavior that put them there. Most of the time it is not the child’s fault.”
Some foster kids come from broken homes, others from neglected families. Each of them has a different and interesting story.
Brianna Saldana, 17, was only 11 when she was taken from her home for the first time. She has since been in eight different homes.
“I found out about the group when I went to Des Moines with my foster mom and she heard about it and we went to a meeting to check it out. Then they started a chapter here in Ottumwa, so I thought I would come see about it,” she said.
RJ Fridley, 16, is another group member
His foster mom told him about the group and he decided it was something he would be interested in.
“I joined to be able to help people and inspire other kids to tell their stories and what they went through,” he said.
When Fridley was 15, he was in trouble with the law and placed at a juvenile facility in Mount Pleasant. After a few weeks, he was placed in his first foster home.
Later he decided to call and ask his brother’s foster family if he could come live with them. Agreeing, he moved in and re-connected with his brother. Recently he asked if they would adopt him. He will find out later this month if the adoption will be granted.
Though the group has not attended many public events yet, Elder has big plans for the Ottumwa “Elevate” chapter and its events calendar is filling up quickly with requests for them to speak at different meetings.
They have even been asked to speak at a foster child conference in Washington, D.C. in May, along with the Des Moines chapter. They are currently taking donations and planning fundraising events to raise the money to go.
For more information on how you can make a donation or get involved with the group, contact Joanie Elder at (641) 799-9989 or attend a meeting on the second or fourth Friday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the Jubilee Bible Church on Green Street.
Scott Niles can be reached at (641) 683-5360 or via e-mail at sjniles@mchsi.com.
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