As Black History Month comes to a close and Women's History Month begins, Mir celebrates this moment with a conversation with two dynamic leaders in the Peace4Kids community.

Jhamasa Lewis-Adams and Jasmine Lamitte discuss how, as Black women, they have developed holistic practices to ensure their sense of safety and wellbeing, They also highlight how they are sharing these practices through the launch of THRIVE, a Peace4Kids program serving young adults leaving the foster care system.

For more information on THRIVE please click here or check out details on our website.

Music in this episode graciously provided by Stephan Muldrow.

This episode (recorded live on the beautiful campus of Cal State LA) features longtime community advocate, educator, and Pomona's own: Meet Miranda Sheffield.

Our conversation is sweeping. Learn about the tenacity of our guest, what foster care was like in the late 20th century, the importance of the Foster Care Ombudsperson Office to youth in foster care, and the nuanced implications of the child welfare system.

Learn More

In California, if you want to learn more about the Foster Youth Bill of Rights or you are concerned about the rights of a foster child, you can call the Ombudsperson's office at 877-846-1602. You can also file a complaint online.

Shoutout to Stephen Muldrow for the music you hear on this episode, much love!

Where were we? In case you missed it: we heard from the Legendary Pato Banton in Part One of this series.

For Part Two, we pick up where we left off, with Pato confronting himself at a creative crossroads.

This episode features live performance footage from Pato's Peace4Kids concert at our 25 Year Family Reunion :)

Don't miss a heartfelt reflection on innovation, determination and transformation.

#GoPato #Peace4Kids #25Years #FamilyReunion

The stars align for this episode of the podcast where Zaid introduces the newest addition to the Peace4Kids community: Jasmine Lamitte (Director of Mental Health and Wellness). Stick around for an in-depth conversation between two leaders and subject-matter experts (and of course the very loud opinions of our local neighborhood rooster) in the spirit of National Foster Care and Mental Health Awareness month.

We want to hear from you as well! Leave us a comment on social media, make a note to yourself, or share with someone you care about: What daily or weekly habits do you use to keep your mental health in shape? How is wellness designed into your lifestyle? What does excellent mental health look and feel like for you?

Welcome Back! ****

Meet the internationally known on the microphone: Pato Banton 🦉 on a special two part Peace4Kids X ROCMove Podcast — part one drops now! Get the background story firsthand on the musical legend’s name, first job, and battle tested philosophy on creative expression, family bonds, education, peace, and much more.

Pato’s conversation spans two episodes — stay posted for part two soon!

In the meantime:

• We encourage you to keep up with Pato on his website: https://officialpatobanton.com/
• RSVP to the 25th Annual Peace4Kids Family Reunion: https://www.peace4kids.org/25reunion

As always, thanks for listening and sharing ✨

The Legacy Episode

In celebration of Black History Month, we are consciously leaning into the future. Join Miriam, Noah, Zaid, and the Peace4Kids community (youth, caregivers, volunteers, staff, and program alumni) in a collage of ideas that honor our collective history and personal legacies in progress.

As always, reach out if there is a topic you want to see discussed that relates to foster care or the foster care experience. If you have something you want to add to the topic of Black history or legacy, let us know, too!

Editor’s Note: This episode is a compilation of field recordings from our outdoor event and though a little rough around the edges, we hope you listen to the end 🙂 Huge thank you again to everyone who stopped to think and chat impromptu and our hope is that you, too, are inspired to reflect on how you show up today and tomorrow.

Bonus: https://madamcjwalker.com

The “At Risk” Episode

Miriam and Noah are back in time for National Mentoring Month to demystify mentoring x foster care: what is mentoring? How do young people manage the road to independence? What might it mean to mentor a young person in foster care?

This episode digs into formal and informal definitions of mentoring; hear from the community directly to gain multiple insights into how culture, psychology, and policy shape how society understands independence after foster care.

Works Referenced

California Department of Education — Foster Care & California Schools

URL: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sg/fosteryouth.asp

Golden, N. A. (2017). “There’s still that window that’s open”: The problem with “grit.” Urban Education, 52(3): 343–369.

URL: https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1066&context=education_articles

Pennington CR, Heim D, Levy AR, Larkin DT. (2016) “Twenty Years of Stereotype Threat Research: A Review of Psychological Mediators.” PLoS One.

URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4713435/

Samuels, G. M. & Pryce, J. M. (2008). “What Doesn't Kill You Makes Your Stronger”: Survivalist self-reliance as resilience and risk among young adults aging out of foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 30, Issue 10, Pages 1198-1210.

URL: [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Julia-Pryce/publication/223052115_What_doesn't_kill_you_makes_you_stronger_Survivalist_self-reliance_as_resilience_and_risk_among_young_adults_aging_out_of_foster_care/links/5a395836a6fdcc3527bc226e/What-doesnt-kill-you-makes-you-stronger-Survivalist-self-reliance-as-resilience-and-risk-among-young-adults-aging-out-of-foster-care.pdf](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Julia-Pryce/publication/223052115_What_doesn't_kill_you_makes_you_stronger_Survivalist_self-reliance_as_resilience_and_risk_among_young_adults_aging_out_of_foster_care/links/5a395836a6fdcc3527bc226e/What-doesnt-kill-you-makes-you-stronger-Survivalist-self-reliance-as-resilience-and-risk-among-young-adults-aging-out-of-foster-care.pdf)

Keywords:

mentoring, mentor, education, career, youth development, impact, relationships, “at risk”, “stereotype threat”, independence, interdependence

Welcome to Season Two of the Peace4Kids X ROCMove Podcast 🚀 Meet Miriam and Noah who introduce themselves, share how Peace4Kids and Revolution of Care Movement (ROCMove) are connected, and what to anticipate in Season Two. 

This is an interactive, community-centric podcast: We genuinely want to hear from you! This platform is all about community and learning. We don’t know it all, and that’s the beauty of setting a big table: pull up! If there is something you’d like to share or discuss with us that intersects with foster care, please reach out to us!

Join the conversation at our blog: https://www.rocmove.org/holiday_podcast_poll

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." - Alice Walker

Every crisis provides a distinct privilege to those who chose to embrace it. This does not mean there is no suffering, but rather a space to integrate it into our awareness. The pandemic has provided a unique chance for us to experience life the way youth in foster care do. A sudden and shocking removal from everything familiar... our relationships, our consistent spaces, and a disorienting uncertainty. 

In this episode, we hear pandemic reflections from two members of our community. Their stories are familiar and remind us that our hope and resilience will always endure if we grow and learn from our shared journeys.

"We are triggered from our places of marginalization but we react from our places of privilege" - unknown 

In this episode, the Peace4Kids community along with Dr. Niki Elliott, Clinical Professor and Director of the Center of Neurodiversity, Learning and Wellness at the University of La Verne, explore the health benefits of mindfulness practices and the launch of our Heart Centered Connections partnership and certification.

Learn More: 

https://www.peace4kids.org/justice_in_the_classroom

Dr. Niki Elliott:

https://www.mindful-leaders.org/about-drniki/

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdZDLGDKkjzWvoGE7L3B6JIcR0mcMzrrw