Kat, Elyzabeth, Alexis, and Esme talk about the unique challenges (former) foster youth face when accessing the mental healthcare services they need. Esme, Community Policy Associate, Mental Health Team at National Center for Youth Law, points to key resources that you might find useful, drawn from “A Young Person’s Guide to Accessing Affordable Mental Health Care.” Guests share their stories, including the little and big ways that they take care of themselves. As always, we keep it real.

Resources:

A Young Person’s Guide to Accessing Affordable Mental Health Care: https://youthlaw.org/resources/young-persons-guide-accessing-affordable-mental-health-services-under-medi-cal

Foster Youth Bill of Rights for the State of California: https://fosteryouthhelp.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/276/2020/10/Foster-Youth-Bill-of-Rights-WIC-16001.9_ADAComplaint.pdf

Content Advisory: The stories we are sharing sometimes touch on different kinds of trauma, please take care of yourself while you listen.

Host:

Kat, Youth Advisory Board Member

Participants:

Elyzabeth, Youth Advisory Board member

Alexis, Youth Advisory Board member

Esmeralda Cortez Rosales, Community Policy Associate, Mental Health Team at National Center for Youth Law

About Self-Taught: Former Foster Youth on Sex, Health, and Life:

Self-Taught: Former Foster Youth on Sex, Health, and Life is a podcast from foster youth, for foster youth, with unfiltered conversations about puberty, relationships, sexual health, identity, and much more that we wish were part of our upbringing. It is hosted by the youth advisory board of the Reproductive Health Equity Project at the National Center for Youth Law.

Self-Taught: Former Foster Youth on Sex, Health, and Life is supported through a grant to the National Center for Youth Law from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. We are very grateful for their support. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Hilton Foundation.

Self-Taught: Former Foster Youth on Sex, Health, and Life is produced in California. Laws, policies and programs discussed in this episode may be specific to California.

Watch our episodes at https://rhep.info/self-taught.

Learn more about the podcast and the Reproductive Health Equity Project at www.fosterreprohealth.org

Email us with questions, comments, and feedback at email@fosterreprohealth.org.