Contra Costa County to graduate 86 foster youth with real life skills for college and work, Tuesday
Erica Wagoner, discussing college scholarships with ILSP Program Coordinator, Don Graves.
One Face, One Bright Future: Tomorrow night, 18 year old Erica Wagoner from Pittsburg, and 85 other teens will take the next big step into adulthood, as they graduate from Contra Costa County’s Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP). For Erica, graduation will come with at least $1,500 in scholarships. While she’s not certain about a college major, she is confident, she’ll advocate for foster youth like herself, “You want foster youth to succeed after what they’ve been through”, she says, knowing what that really means.
Erica was 16 when her home life became less than stable, and she moved in with friends. Her brother and sisters went to live in other homes. Nothing was secure in her life; until she started attending the ILSP Program in Martinez. Here she says, she found, “People to trust. Even if you don’t think you need help, they know how to help.”
In its 27th year in Contra Costa County, with funding from the Federal Government and reliant upon community donations; ILSP prepares foster youth for their future, with life and employment skills training, money management and cooking classes, and provides them with the guidance to map their futures by going to college or a job training program.
June 16th, at Centre Concord, $65,000 in scholarships will be awarded; one more way ILSP is living up to its motto, “We deal in futures.”
the attachments to this post:
Erica Wagoner
Erica Wagoner & Don Graves
