Orange County, CA (1888PressRelease)
February 26, 2007 - Positive Resistance has restructured it’s website in celebration of the seven thousand lives the volunteer organization has improved since 2001.
In 2006, Antonia Messina the volunteer Project Coordinator for Positive Resistance, gainfully employed over a dozen emancipated foster youth in Los Angeles and Orange County area. Through her expertise and coaching former foster children who were minimum wage fast food preparers gained the confidence to enter the corporate sphere some of whom became permanently employed as customer service representatives. In addition, other foster children who aged-out of the system and lacked adequate job experience subsequently became temporary employees of several outstanding civic-minded corporations; over the span of several months each youth built resumes and reputations that made them desirable in the eyes of future human resource administrators.
“The work that Positive Resistance is doing is relevant to the community because one day foster children are going to be our coworkers, spouses, friends and bosses.” Ms. Messina stated, “I don’t want them to settle for the bare minimum when they have so much potential. No one has told them to reach for the stars before. Our organization is offering (them) stability that they may not otherwise consider available to them.”
When foster youth reach age eighteen they are no longer wards of the court and are virtually on their own. Youth who matured in the foster care system are issued a bus pass and are provided health care, however, both benefits run out at the age twenty-one. Positive Resistance is an organization that is dedicated to providing information and alternatives for youth on the brink of individuation.
“Without a support system, it is the collective voice of the community that will be reinforced in the minds of our foster children.” Keariene Muizz, the director stresses, “I think we will begin to see a change in our foster children when our community begins to raise their expectations for this populace. When we, the society, begin to reinforce positive stereotypes we will start to see better results. These children look to us for their values and standards –we can’t forget that we are their parents.”
If you can mail a birthday card, create a resume, or perform a mock interview from a script.
please email amessinais ( @ ) yahoo dot com dot
Change the Nation. Foster Hope.
