September 2024 Staff Recommendations

If You See Them Young, Unhoused, and Alone in America

In her memoir, author Vicki Sokolik shares firsthand her experience encountering unhoused youth. The book begins with Sokolik offering aid to her son’s classmate who is living on her own and struggling to make ends meet. Sokolik, alarmed by the amount of youth faced with this crisis, created a nonprofit, Start Right, Now, that advocates for social and health services for unhoused youth. The book uses personal anecdotes and statistics to emphasize the resilience of these youth, many of whom find it hard to escape the cyclical nature of living without stable shelter. The book discusses food insecurity, racial inequality, and the foster care system.

This book was recommended by CASA volunteer Kelly Bennett. Kelly says, “If You See Them focuses on a population we do not encounter in CASA work–youth who have experienced significant abuse and neglect but have not come into contact with the child welfare system. That said, it is a very valuable read, especially for CASAs working with teens. The book offers unique insight into adolescents’ perspectives on experiencing trauma and how they view the adults in their lives trying to help them. It also shows the challenges youth face in gaining effective independent living skills. Lastly, the book reinforces points made in CASA training on the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on behavioral patterns, academic performance, and life outcomes.”

Daughters

From a documentary co-directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton comes a story about four daughters who prepare to see their incarcerated fathers for a father-daughter dance. Inspired by Richmond activist Angela Patton’s TED Talk on her experience planning these father-daughter dances, co-director Natalie Rae was sold on taking the story to the big screen. Throughout the film, we follow these four young girls and their mothers as they anticipate the dance. We also hear from the fathers as they feel more open to sharing their feelings and thoughts on the upcoming dance. The film focuses on the daughters and the effects of incarceration on families. The film was widely received at the Sundance Film Festival, winning the Audience Award for U.S. Documentary and the Festival Favorite Award.

Alexis said, “Daughters is an emotional and thought-provoking documentary that touches upon generational trauma and tells the story of how girls are affected by the incarceration of their fathers. It is emotional, at times overwhelming, and an essential documentary to watch as a CASA volunteer.”

I Didn’t Know If I Was Ready for Kids. Then I Became a Single Foster Dad At 27.

Writer Billie Oh always knew they wanted kids. However, they never expected to become a single foster dad at 27. In their essay, Billie speaks of the experience and circumstances that led them to apply to be a foster parent. Billie broaches significant topics like the challenges of parenthood and the complicated process of finding a guardian for foster children. Billie discusses their journey adopting their son and their unique experience being young, single, and gay in the foster parent community, something that sets them apart from other foster parents. Billie’s compassion for their son flourished when their son needed it most.

Fabi says, “This piece was so captivating. The author speaks from experience here. You can feel their compassion for their son and the deep understanding they have of the foster care system. Their perspective is one we don’t hear from too often and is worth shedding light on.”