Michael Place

What is the one thing you wish people knew about the foster care system from your perspective?

When speaking on the details and aftermath surrounding the unfortunate death of Freddie Gray, President Obama said "If our society really wanted to solve the problem, we could; it's just that it would require everybody saying, 'this is important; this is significant.' And, that we don't just pay attention to these communities when a CVS burns, and we don't just pay attention when a young man gets shot or has his spine snapped, but we're paying attention all the time because we consider those kids our kids."

This is also true for the foster care system. The woes of the foster care system, ARE fixable. It just requires the realization that every abused and neglected child in our society is a major concern for us all. And then from there all that is required is a commitment from each of us to do something, even the smallest thing, about it.

What was the key takeaway from your experience of Foster Youth Shadow Day last year?

My main takeaway from my experience as a 2014 Foster Youth Shadow Day participant, was that there are so many wonderful people from all around the country working to change the narrative for children in care, and it is absolutely beautiful!