February 26, 2001
Buckner helps young adults
hit the TRAIL toward success
___By Russ Dilday
___Buckner News Service
___Amanda, who recently had left the care of Child Protective Services of Texas, became pregnant and had a child. Single and unemployed, she had run out of options for her and her baby and called Buckner Children and Family Services of Southeast Texas for help.
___Kevin Garriga, the voice on the Buckner end of the line, offered her an opportunity:"We want you to go to college," he told her.
TRAIL participant Eugene Grant (right) checks inventory with co-workers at a Beaumont clothing store. TRAIL--Transitioning to Responsible Adult Independent Living--is a partnership between Buckner Children and Family Services and the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, designed to help children who have lived in residential child care or foster care make a smooth transition to adulthood. (Photo by Russ Dilday)
___"She had gotten her GED and wanted to go to college," he said. "We took her to Lamar Institute of Technology, got everything set up, got her Pell Grant money. All she had to do was register and show up for classes. We feel like the most important thing is to get these kids an education at this point in time."
___The situation of Amanda, whose name has been changed for this story, represents one of the thorniest issues that has faced children's care services for decades: After providing a quality environment for children through foster or institutional care, how can that guidance continue after they leave? Many former residents or foster children, once removed from the structured environment of care, often are ill-equipped to handle situations faced in adult life and have no support system on which to fall back.
___But Buckner officials believe they may have found the answer through an innovative pilot program that helps young adults who have left the care of Texas Child Protective Services and are struggling to make it on their own. TRAIL, short for Transitioning to Responsible Adult Independent Living, was initiated by Buckner and the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services in January 2000 to answer the critical needs of these young adults in Southeast Texas, including Lufkin.
___"There's not another program like it in the state," said Garriga, case manager for TRAIL. Other social service agencies expressed the need for a program like TRAIL, but Buckner was the only one that bid on it, he said.
___The result is an innovative program that's not just for those previously in Buckner care.
___"The purpose of the program is to help the kids become self-sufficient," Garriga noted. "We try to teach them responsibility so that they can move into adulthood.
___"When they need something, they call me. A lot of times, I'm just a shoulder to cry on, or someone they need to talk to. I have them from 17 to 21 years of age and all ethnic backgrounds--Anglos, Hispanics, African-Americans. There's no discrimination. We want to serve anybody and everybody we can. I'm a lot of mommas and daddies to a lot of kids right now."
___Velleader Watts, 20, was in foster care for 10 years. A sophomore deaf education and occupational therapy double major at Lamar University, she described the TRAIL program as "awesome."
___"When I first met Kevin, ... I was trying to figure out how I was going to be able to go to summer school and pay for it. I didn't have any money, and I didn't have a place to live either," she recalled.
___"What they do is help us financially when we need it. They help us look for jobs. Kevin has helped us deal with financial aid difficulties.
___"He's like a support system," she added. "I see him as my mentor, because around here you don't have any parents close to you and you don't know anybody and you need someone sometimes. When I met him, I was real down on my luck and he and his assistant, Keisha, helped me."
___That help is not solely financial, Watts said. "He and Keisha took me around looking for jobs. I had put in about 30 or 40 applications before one person called me. It was just hot outside, and they paid for bus passes so I could learn to ride the city bus system. Just anything trying to help me become independent and doing things for myself. That's what Kevin does."
___After an evaluation period of up to two years, the state will make a decision about expanding the program to other regions.
___Meanwhile, Garriga also has learned some lessons.
___"Probably the biggest thing that surprised me about the program was the eagerness of the kids to participate and want it," he said. "We were afraid at first because a lot of the kids had been in care for so long that all they are thinking of is, 'I don't want any part of this.' But the kids, once you explain to them that they are not in care, are very willing.
___"I have kids calling me now that want to be in the program, instead of us calling the kids."
___And the participants themselves sometimes are surprised at how well they can do.
___For example, Grant was in and out of foster care since he was 2 years old. His mother had seven kids and no money, and his dad abandoned the family. His mother eventually turned to drugs and alcohol, which resulted in abuse and other problems.
___But a single event changed Grant's life, he said. "I was bad all the way up to eighth grade. I was into stealing and stuff like that. And then I made the honor roll in eighth grade and it kind of like shocked the heck out of me. Ever since then I've been going uphill.
___Now, TRAIL gives him the encouragement to keep that winning streak going, he said.
___"TRAIL has helped me realize that, yes, you can overcome troubles in your life," Grant said. "That it's not the end of the world just because you don't have parents and stuff.
___"It's Kevin caring for us and him wanting to be there for us that makes us want to do good," Grant said. "He's a pretty good person.
___"You know, if hadn't been for TRAIL, there ain't no telling ... ."
___
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