Advocacy program empowers older youth in substitute care

CHARLOTTE — There are over 10,000 children and teens in the foster care system in North Carolina. According to the Children’s Home Society, one of the greatest needs right now is for families to care for older youth.

One North Carolina program is working to support that group in the substitute care system regardless of their situation. It’s called SaySo.

Amiya Dowd is a proud 49er, a member of the school band, with a triple major in psychology, criminal justice and political science. It’s a path she says she’s worked hard for, and one she’s passionate about helping others navigate.

“There was a point in time where I was not where I wanted to be academically,” she told Channel 9’s Elsa Gillis. “School is really an escape for young people who have experienced substitute care, because we go there with objective of, if I get through this, I can get out of this.”

Now, Dowd is an advocate for youth in substitute care, like herself.

Substitute care includes an situation where a child is going to live with somebody other than their biological parents. It includes traditional foster care to homelessness. For Amiya it was guardianship and kinship care.

Since she was about 14, she’s been a member of the youth-led advocacy program SaySo. Dowd describes it as home.

“Whenever I was in that room, I automatically felt like I had a presence and I had a voice, and everything that I said was relevant,” she said.

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SaySo shows young people they’re not alone, Jamaica Pfister, the director of government affairs for the Children’s Home Society, said.

“They want to make sure that any decisions that are made about that population, they’re at the table to contribute to as well,” Pfister added. “They’re old enough to have that voice. You know, they have experienced some trauma in their lifetime, and they have really good ideas of ways to make things better.”

Currently, Dowd and her peers are advocating for educational rights, as teens in their shoes often move from school to school.

“Certain credits will not transfer, or certain classes will not be accepted, and that puts us two steps behind of where we’re supposed to be when we’re already knocked three steps back,” Dowd said.

Over the years, Pfister says SaySo youth have helped create significant change for their peers, including advocating for health coverage, extending foster care services from age 18 to 21, and ensuring siblings stay connected even when not living together — a personal one for Dowd, who has two younger brothers.

“I love them so much, they’re my entire world,” she said. “I’m still able to see my siblings, and we are closer than ever.”

Beyond advocacy, SaySo is about providing normalcy and support to older youth, and Dowd encourages the whole community to be part of that.

“I would definitely say these older youth, even me, we need your support just as much as that beautiful baby that you want to bring into your home, you know, even for a mentor, you know, just simply someone to talk to, you can really change a young person’s life just by being involved,” she said.

SaySo helps with things like getting a drivers license and navigating higher education, but it also provides some autonomy and decision-making skills which is important as well.

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