I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with a former TRAC youth Jeremy, who has made incredible progress in his life. During our conversation, he spoke openly about his time in foster care, his experience with TRAC, and the goals he is working toward today.
Jeremy entered foster care after his parents divorced and spent roughly five years in the system. During that time, he struggled to get consistent support. After aging out of foster care in 2022, he didn’t have a connection to his family and was tryig to build his community alone. Then he was connected with TRAC.
When Jeremy first came to TRAC, he was not sure he could trust anyone. After years of unstable support, he didn’t quite know what was truly instore.
“I already had it made up in my head that the people weren’t there to help me,” he told me. “I didn’t know what I would get out of it.”
“The most helpful part was them not giving up on me.”
-Jeremy
With his past experiences, it took time for him to trust the TRAC Team and the beginning was not always easy. Jeremy shared that he was in the process of addressing some behavorial and mental health challenges. What made the differnce, was that his support system with TRAC, continued to show up.
“The most helpful part was them not giving up on me,” he said. “When I first started, I gave them a run for their money. They were consistent. They told me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear, and they kept pushing me to do better.”
While in the TRAC Housing Program, Jeremy worked with the workforce team to apply for jobs, set goals, and prepare for independent living. He recalls that some of the expectations felt unnecessary as he was encouraged to come to the office and work on his goals. Looking back now, he understands what those routines taught him.
“TRAC helped me learn resiliency,” he said. “There are things that simply have to get done. At the time, it seemed pointless, but now I realize it taught me to keep working toward something.”
Jeremy secured a Housing Choice Voucher and moved into an apartment of his own. After his housing was secured, he was able to focus on his next goal in life, which was pursuing a higher education.
He was accepted into community college where he completed some of his basics while working two jobs. After finishing some college courses, he saw the opportunity to work in the oil field out of state and was ready to leave TRAC and become independent.
“I worked in the oil field for about a year and man was I able to save a lot of money. I was able to use that money to move back to Texas because I missed home and I wanted to finish school.”
After returning home, his TRAC coach, who he called regularly to tell them he was doing good, helped him apply to go back to school and began attending a local university to pursue his bachelor’s degree.
Today, Jeremy is studying political science with a minor in social work and is preparing to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in the spring. He has plans to work in the nonprofit sector by starting his own organization aimed at helping young people who have experienced foster care and people returning home after incarceration.
“I never gave up, I chose to keep going and keep looking for the next best thing.”
-Jeremy
Since returning back to Texas, Jeremy has also created a successful socia media community. “I just started sharing parts of my day and talking about stuff that I just normally talk about.”
His content focuses around political advocacy and is a collage of short videos addressing current political topics. After one of his videos went viral, he started getting requests for brand deals, modeling contracts, and other political advocates. He continued to grow his platforms and is now able to earn his income through social media.
In fact, he had just returned from California where he spent time near Santa Monica networking and continuing his advocacy. He shared that he enjoys traveling, experiencing new places, and seeing what opportunities are out there. But Jeremy shared that wasn’t always the case.
When I asked Jeremy what he was most proud of, he told me it was how far he had come.
He said that he used to have a negative mindset and was not always pleasant to be around. Over time, he made the decision to change his outlook.
“I never gave up,” he said. “I chose to keep going and keep looking for the next best thing.”
Even with everything he has accomplished, Jeremy is quick to point out that his journey is not finished.
“I’m still growing, and I’m still learning.” he shared.
Before our conversation ended, Jeremy shared a message for other young people who may be starting their journey with TRAC.
“If you take the tools that TRAC gives you and put your mind to it, you’re going to be successful.”
-Jeremy
He described TRAC as a stepping stone and a place that exists to help people like him find their path in life. He went on to say, “they will put you in a position to become better.”
After hearing his story, I was reminded that the impact of TRAC goes far beyond housing or employment. Sometimes, the most important thing we can give a young person is consistency, accountability, and a team that refuses to give up on them.
-Shey Andrews, Manager of Fundraising and Engagement at TRAC