Foster Care Helped Me Thrive
"Foster Care helped me thrive, and gave me a place to finally be myself." - Ryan
On Wednesday afternoon, Amy Roth from the Utica Observer-Dispatch stopped by our Foster care building to interview one of our young adults in Foster Care, Ryan. The interview was conducted to give Ryan the opportunity to tell his story to the community. He spoke about his past and how he got to where he is now, and his plans for the future, highlighting his accomplishments, dreams, and personality. Ryan is a very creative and profound young adult. He uses his art and creativity to escape reality and show his experiences through the characters he creates in his drawings, writing, and digital platforms.
As Ryan described his journey through life and the HGS foster care system, the joy in the room became apparent. His experiences have been a path full of some uncertainty, but eventually became brighter when he met his Foster Parent, Joanne. "Joanne helped me change my life, and now she is stuck with me," Ryan said jokingly, "but I am not sure where I would be if I didn't have her support."
Ryan's journey has taken him through many twists and turns, but in the end, it has brought him through a tunnel with a bright light at the end. Ryan will be graduating from RFA this year with a plan to attend MVCC for two years and then continue his college education at SUNY Oneonta. Ryan is very excited about his future, and we congratulate him for coming such a long way!
