Jakes Big Brothers Thearaputic Mentorship Incorporated

JACOB MACFOY OWNER AND CEO WENT THROUGH FOSTER CARE WHEN I WAS 12 YEARS OLD, I WAS TAKEN FROM MY FAMILY AND PUT IN CPS CARE. I JUMPED FROM FOSTER HOME TO FOSTER HOME DUE TO ME BEING A TROUBLED YOUNG ADULT. DURING THAT TIME, I WAS STILL MATURING INTO A TEENAGER, AND I MISSED MY PARENTS EVERY SINGLE DAY. AS A FORMER YOUTH OF FOSTER CARE THERE WERE TIMES WHERE FAMILY MEMBER IN MY FAMILY PASSED AWAY AND I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO GO CPS DID NOT TRY TO REUNITE ME WITH MY PARENT THEY TOLD ME THAT MY PARENTS SAID I COULD NEVER COME HOME BUT THEY NEVER SAID THAT SO NOT ONLY DID THEY TAKE ME FROM MY FAMILY THEY LIED ON THEM AND DROVE A WEDGE BETWEEN ME AND MY PARENTS I WANTED TO START THIS NONPROFIT TO HELP FOSTER KIDS IN TEXAS AND EVENTUALLY THE COUNTRY. WHEN I AGED OUT OF CARE, I HAD NO UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO SURVIVE AND ENDED UP SLEEPING IN MY CAR ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. I HAD TO PARK MY CAR IN FRONT OF GROCERY STORES AT NIGHT JUST TO MAKE SURE MY CAR DID NOT GET BROKEN INTO WHAT YOU ARE NOT TOLD

JACOB MACFOY OWNER AND CEO WENT THROUGH FOSTER CARE WHEN I WAS 12 YEARS OLD, I WAS TAKEN FROM MY FAMILY AND PUT IN CPS CARE. I JUMPED FROM FOSTER HOME TO FOSTER HOME DUE TO ME BEING A TROUBLED YOUNG ADULT. DURING THAT TIME, I WAS STILL MATURING INTO A TEENAGER, AND I MISSED MY PARENTS EVERY SINGLE DAY. AS A FORMER YOUTH OF FOSTER CARE THERE WERE TIMES WHERE FAMILY MEMBER IN MY FAMILY PASSED AWAY AND I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO GO CPS DID NOT TRY TO REUNITE ME WITH MY PARENT THEY TOLD ME THAT MY PARENTS SAID I COULD NEVER COME HOME BUT THEY NEVER SAID THAT SO NOT ONLY DID THEY TAKE ME FROM MY FAMILY THEY LIED ON THEM AND DROVE A WEDGE BETWEEN ME AND MY PARENTS I WANTED TO START THIS NONPROFIT TO HELP FOSTER KIDS IN TEXAS AND EVENTUALLY THE COUNTRY. WHEN I AGED OUT OF CARE, I HAD NO UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO SURVIVE AND ENDED UP SLEEPING IN MY CAR ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. I HAD TO PARK MY CAR IN FRONT OF GROCERY STORES AT NIGHT JUST TO MAKE SURE MY CAR DID NOT GET BROKEN INTO WHAT YOU ARE NOT TOLD WHILE IN CARE IS THAT YOU HAVE RESOURCES YOU CAN STAY IN CARE UNTIL THE AGE OF 21, I DID NOT STAY IN CARE BUT I WISH I HAD BECAUSE IF I HAD STAYED I WOULD HAVE NEVER SLEPT IN MY CAR. I ALSO WENT THROW A PERIOD WHERE I WAS COUCH SURFING. WHEN I WAS IN CARE, I WAS BEING MOVED FROM FOSTER HOME TO FOSTER HOME AND ENDED UP WITH MY LAST FOSTER FAMILY FOR 3 YEARS AND ENDED UP GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL. THIS IS MY STORY OF WHY I STARTED THIS NONPROFIT AGENCY. MY GOAL IS TO CREATE A PLACE WHERE FOSTER KIDS THAT HAVE PARENTS AND DO NOT HAVE PARENTS CAN CALL HOME AND WHERE THEY CAN STILL RETURN TO AFTER THEY AGE OUT OF CARE FOR HOLIDAYS. MY GOAL IS TO BE LIKE A SECOND FAMILY TO THEM. THE SYSTEM OF CPS IS BROKEN AND NEEDS TO BE REFORMED. MY GOAL IS TO CREATE A PLACE FOR FOSTER KIDS TO GROW AND PROSPER. ONE OF MY MAIN FOCUSES WILL BE TO SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS SO WHEN THEY AGE OUT, THEY WILL HAVE MONEY TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE AND WILL UNDERSTAND HOW TO PAY BILLS AND SAVE MONEY. THE STATE DOES NOT PROVIDE FOSTER KIDS OR EVEN YOUNG ADULTS WITH THIS INFORMATION THAT TO GET A CAR YOU MUST HAVE CREDIT TO BUILD YOUR CREDIT YOU NEED AT LEAST ONE CREDIT CARD. THESE ARE THINGS I WISH I KNEW BEFORE I AGED OUT OF CARE. ALSO, WHEN CPS TOOK ME, IT CAUSED SERIOUS MENTAL ISSUES THAT I AM STILL WORKING THROUGH TODAY AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I STRUGGLED WITH DURING THAT PERIOD IN MY LIFE I SUFFERED FROM DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AND EVEN ATTEMPTED TO TAKE MY LIFE 6 TIMES I WAS PUT IN MULTIPLE HOMES WHERE I WAS PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY ABUSED AS A YOUNG ADULT. I LOOK BACK AND FEEL LIKE I WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF WITH MY PARENTS NOT IN CPS CARE DUE TO MY EXPERIENCES I WANTED TO CREATE A SAFE PLACE FOR ALL FOSTER KIDS OF ALL AGES FOR THEM TO GROW AND PROSPER IN A STRUCTURED ENVIRONMENT AND A PLACE THEY CAN CALL HOME FOR YEARS TO COME.