Years in Care: 7

Mathurin was in care for 7 years until he aged out. During his time in care, he experienced over 38 different placements--mostly residential treatment facilities and a few foster homes. He encountered many challenges while in care due to his lack of knowledge about the foster care system. Mathurin started fighting back with less than professional and more reckless behaviors. His life was headed downhill fast before he met the Youth Development Program (YDP). In YDP, he learned ways to advocate not only for himself but for other youth who may struggle while in foster care. He now advocates on behalf of youth in foster care who lack the knowledge of their rights because of the way he, among others, was treated while in care. Matt not only works with his advocacy board; he also participates in training for current and incoming foster parents. He sees his work with the advocacy board as a way to sharing his experiences and how things can be improved within the system. He plans to become a foster parent one day. Matt's goal is to help eliminate one sided youth-adult partnerships.

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2017 All-Stars
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