“Well I started at foster care when I was about three,” said 36 year old Christopher Petersen.
Homeless now, he lives with many issues from his past.
“When your father comes home every night when your six years old and chokes you and slams you and beats you, it gives you issues,” he said. He describes himself as mentally and physically disabled and has been using drugs. His past includes some time in college, but also in prison.
“So you’re dealing with abandonment, trauma and who knows if they had gotten abused or neglected,” said Karen Cowling, director of Mission Arvada, which operates out of The Rising Church. There are a long list of potential problems.
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“They probably have a lot of significant mental health issues that they need support with,” she added. And then there are the high number with developmental disabilities. She estimates forty percent of the people who come into the shelter are products of the foster care system.
The estimated number is even higher at Denver’s Urban Peak shelter for homeless youth says its CEO Christina Carlson.
“Over 60 percent of the you that you see are products of the foster care system.”
RELATED Aging out of the foster care system without support can be a lonely life
Statistics show one of three young people in foster care become homeless the day they reach 18 and age out.
“They need mentors. They need people who care about them in their lives,” said Cowling. “They don’t have transportation, most likely they haven’t got a driver’s license,” she added. “It’s hard to find a job. They probably don’t have interview skills.” All of it adds up. “You can’t get a grip. Like you’re in the vortex. And then you end up oftentimes in a chronically homeless situation.”
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State lawmakers are looking at legislation that will add vouchers dedicated to former foster care children to the mix, starting with 100. Ultimately it would likely become about 400, says Senator Rachel Zenzinger of Arvada, who says she is working on the legislation with the officer of Governor Jared Polis.
RELATED Volunteers build bike shelters for homeless youth: ‘So much trauma in their life’
Vouchers can help. Twenty-nine-year-old Skylar Williams is now in housing because of a voucher. A product of the foster care system when he was young, he emerged without some things he needed to establish himself.
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“I can remember trying, but I didn’t have the life skills,” said Williams who eventually ended up living in a large refrigerator. “It was the only place I could get a roof for the cold.”
Cowling and her husband have been helping Williams, whom she says is an excellent worker.
RELATED Colorado legislation aims to bolster failing foster care system (2018)
Cowling believes what is needed is more so-called wraparound services, offering things like counseling, substance abuse help, job assistance, mental health programs and more.
“If we had a good program in place of some sort that had all of those kinds of components, I would say it would be decreased by at least half. If not more.”
