After suffering through broken or non-existent family relationships, we encourage teens in foster care to strive for “independence” and “self-sufficiency”. We put them in independent living programs and teach independent living skills yet none of us can be completely self-sufficient or independent. Everyone needs a support system. Our focus should be to help foster teens create healthy relationships. We need each other. Human connections are not only essential to physical survival they play a key role in emotional well-being.
Friends, buddies, peers – let’s champion interdependent living
- Friend = a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
“A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.” -Arnold H. Glasow
“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” -Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” -Henry Ford
- Buddy = to be a companion; comrade
The buddy system is an arrangement in which persons are paired, as for mutual safety or assistance. It is a procedure in which two people, the “buddies”, operate together as a single unit so that they are able to monitor and help each other. The buddy system is used in our military, in schools, and in organizations.
- Peer Mentoring = arrangement between a person who has lived through a specific experience (Peer Mentor) and a person who is new to that experience (the Peer Mentee)
Peer mentoring provides individuals who have endured a specific life experience the chance to learn from those who have recovered, or rehabilitated from the experience.
Nicki Sanders, MSW, Chief Visionary Officer
The Teen Toolbox utilizes youth portfolio development and civic engagement and academic empowerment strategies to help teens set goals for life after high school and create a road map to reach those goals through its PACKAGED FOR SUCCESS™ Programs. We are committed to supporting and raising awareness about the needs and potential of teenagers in the foster care system.
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