I am Ginger Rockey-Johnson, dubbed “Mama G” by this population of youth. In 2015 I became an Advocate for teens in foster care. Teens in foster care “age out” of the system of care when they turn eighteen. Some youth will qualify for the state’s extended foster care programs, some will not. This phenomenon is due to their mental health issues, lack of education and/or their inability to hold a job. The first time one of my teens in foster care turned eighteen and was immediately homeless, I was horrified. Worse yet, despite all my attempts to advocate for the youth to get into extended foster care, all efforts failed. I couldn’t do nothing. I had to take action to help and couldn’t watch a youth who couldn’t even feed themself, be homeless. Together with my beloved husband, John Sheid, who is “Papa J”, an ordained Pastor, we work to help these invisible youth in our community. Almost 33% of former foster youth who did not qualify or participate in state programs, end up homeless. Suffering from a lack of education, lack of independent skills or vocational training, joblessness, no food or water, mental health, extreme trauma, no ability to care for themselves, and no family support, many of these youths turn to human trafficking, criminal activities, and substance abuse in attempts to survive a world they do not understand. The lack of stable family leaves them radically ill-prepared to be an adult much less a productive member of society. They have no knowledge of acceptable social norms and expectations nor will they care to learn; they are in survival mode. This is a world-wide problem, not a problem that is unique to any one region of the world. Now four years later, “Mama G’s Home for Teens” is known as being fiercely protective of the teenagers we are responsible for, both in foster care and those who aged out. By no fault of their own, these youth were removed from the parents or caregivers, were abused and/or neglected them and later if they are unfortunate enough to have no family, they ended up homeless and without the skills necessary to take care of themselves. They have been cast aside by their families and loved ones. They are angry, hurt, confused, dejected, and traumatized, these youth become an extended family of Mama G’s Home for Teens a 501c3. We provide mentoring, life skills, financial support, familial support they need, clothes, housing, household items… literally everything that parents would and should do to help youth get ready for adulthood.