JBAY Wins Budget Victory to Prevent Homelessness in High Cost Counties
When Ajanique Dunlap turned 18 she was counting on moving into a foster care placement developed specifically for older youth in foster care. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Ajanique found that the transitional housing provider had no apartments open. “I had to leave my current placement, but I had nowhere to go. I […]
JBAY’s Advocacy Featured in Multiple Media Outlets
JBAY’s advocacy was featured in numerous media outlets in the build-up to the passage of the state budget, effective July 1st. JBAY Youth Advocate Emmerald Evans was featured in a KTVU news story on the importance of supporting foster youth during COVID-19. “Campuses have been closed. Students have to go home, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that foster youth […]
JBAY Launches New Safety New Fund for Foster Youth in College
COVID-19 poses a special risk to more than 30,000 foster youth going to college in California. While other students can often turn to family for emergency help with everything from housing to internet access, many foster youth have had no safety net to fall back on. Until now. John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) is […]
JBAY Supports New Bill to Help Homeless Students Stay in College
Nineteen percent of students at California community colleges experience homelessness, as do eleven percent of California State University students. The homeless crisis is even worse for students who are African American, Native American, LGBTQ, or foster youth. Assembly Bill 2416, introduced by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, will require colleges to consider homelessness as an extenuating circumstance […]
JBAY Supports Bill to Help Foster Youth Get Student Aid
Foster youth struggle in higher education. By age 26, just eight percent of former foster youth earn a bachelor’s degree compared to 46 percent of the same-age population of young adults. One of the main stumbling blocks for foster youth applying to college is failure to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). […]
JBAY Successfully Advocates for No Aging-Out During COVID-19
COVID-19 has challenged us all in many ways. But imagine if you had just turned 21 years old and were told to leave your home and find a new home, all while trying to protect yourself from the virus? Now imagine doing this all without the assistance of a family. Could you do it safely? […]
Our Advocacy is Keeping the Class of 2020 on Track to Graduate and Transition to College
When the pandemic struck, over 4,000 foster care youth who were high school seniors in California suddenly left their high schools and started remote learning. Most didn’t have a laptop or internet connectivity and many were at the crucial tail end of the college application and financial aid process. These foster youth were on their […]
Facing COVID-19 a a Foster Youth is ‘Formidable’ Says Chronicle
A recent San Francisco Chronicle article featured John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) efforts to ensure at-risk youth have the resources needed during and after COVID-19. Here’s just part of the story: As schools closed and roommates fled to childhood homes, many foster youth had nowhere to go. Even if they find a couch to sleep on, […]