“I remember seeing the seal of CPS and I remember them asking my name and I ended up at Polinsky.”
Nikia Brewtown can never forget the moment he entered into the foster care system.
At 6 years old, he would spend the next 11 years going from temporary homes, to group homes, to different families. Until he was adopted by his Dad.
Brewtown says, “It became confusing and then it became a normal way of life. You know carrying your things from one place to another losing a lot of important things sentimental things and getting used to where am I going to go next not having a place to settle down.”
And because of that feeling he’s become an advocate for foster care children. Monday, he participated in a news conference organized by the “People’s Association of Justice Advocates.”
The organization led by Shane Harris, is pushing for a number of changes within the foster care system. Harris who also grew up in the County’s Child Welfare System is working to secure guaranteed income programs for foster kids, to supporting AB2906 which would ban counties from taking foster youth survivor and disability benefits, to pushing the County to remove the worse “case” when referring to foster youth. Something Brewtown says still bothers him today.
Brewtown adds, “It's really damaging to your self esteem you start to not see youthself as a child or person I'm just the next one in line. You see yourself as a number opposed to a human being.”
