Hi there, I’m Nikki. I filed the Articles of Organization for my nonprofit, Nikki’s Place, on February 10,2021. For those of you who do not know me, my story starts when I was in 11 years old. I was removed from my mothers home and put into the foster care system where I was living, outside of Washington D.C. I was in and out of juvenile detention centers, group homes and foster homes. During my sophomore year of high school, I was briefly reunited with my biological family, which is the ultimate goal of foster care, “reunification of family”. Unfortunately that reunion was very short lived and I returned to the system only weeks later.
At the age of 18, I was faced with the choice to either stay in the system, work and attend college in the independent living program or exit and become homeless. For me, my choice was clear, I decided to stay. Unlike many, I was extremely fortunate to have had the same social worker the entire 10 years I was in the system. She never let me stop believing that I was capable of achieving anything I set my mind to. She constantly pushed me to do what everyone else thought was the impossible. With her help and determination to see me succeed, I went on to graduate from college, with a degree in Computer & Information Science with a major in Medical Administration; and finally exited the system at the age of 21. My time in the foster care system was not always a good. In fact, there were some extremely rough moments. However, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity, and the support of the foster care system. Sometimes I wonder where I might have ended up if I was never in foster care at all.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case for every child that exits the system. In fact, after reaching the age of 18, 20% of the children who were in foster care will become instantly homeless. Many chose homelessness over the opportunities the system has to offer because of the lack of support they had during their time in foster care. Some end up back in the environments they were originally removed from, some on drugs, others pregnant, potentially in jail or even dead. The truth is many foster children are not prepared to be independent and do not have the skills or resources needed to access the opportunities that could launch them into a successful life after foster care.
I had always known that I wanted to work in the foster care system in some capacity. I thought maybe I’d become a foster mom, possibly a social worker. In May of 2021, I become a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) brining me one step closer to achieving my goal. However, after really thinking about my time in the system, I realized that while my early years were really difficult, the hardest time I faced was when I was alone, after foster care.
I decided to start Nikki’s Place to help young adults who were not sure what came after life in foster care. To share with them, not only my experience, but experiences of other former foster children, past and present, and inspire hope for their futures and a supportive community. To help them learn what I believe is the core basics of independent living. To ensure that they will always have a family walking beside them, encouraging them, and fighting for their success even when they are not up to fighting for themselves.
While I am still in the very early phases of starting this project, I am very proud of the accomplishments I have made to date. I know that this particular community of young adults are extremely underserved, and with the help of you, I know that we will make a big difference.
I am excited to share this journey with you.
Thank You!
Suggested Citation: Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2021). Foster care statistics 2019. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau.