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Former foster youth on Los Angeles County podcast urge better housing, pay and supports for transition-age youth
Summary
On a Talk to Me podcast episode recorded in Los Angeles County, two system-involved young people described gaps in housing, inconsistent access to resources and heavy social‑worker caseloads, and urged higher pay for workers, better resource navigation and more lived‑experience leadership in programs serving foster youth.
Sherry Bradford, host of the Talk to Me podcast, opened a recorded conversation about systems improvement for young people involved in foster care with two guests, who described gaps in housing, inconsistent access to services and the role of supportive adults in changing trajectories.
Jonae Rivers, 31, a former foster youth and co‑founder of World 2 World Global Youth Film Festival, said she was "fortunate enough to have social workers that cared about their job and kinda really showed up for me," and credited that support with helping her access THP Plus and referrals to the Right Way Foundation after she turned 21. Rivers added that many other youth she knows did not receive that level of continuity from caseworkers.
That contrast, Rivers said, helps explain why housing remains a core problem for people leaving care: "housing is 1 of the biggest, issues when it comes to foster youth," she said, describing youth who end up homeless,…
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