Youth Profiles

Alexis Barries

As a former foster youth, Alexis has faced multiple barriers on the road to her dream of becoming an advocacy lawyer. Alexis first entered the foster care system at the age of two when both of her parents were incarcerated and faced life sentences. A year after incarceration, Alexis’s mom was killed in prison

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Aja Dunlap

At eight years old, Aja and her siblings were separated from her parents due to domestic violence. By the age of 17, Aja had lived in four different foster homes and attended six different high schools throughout the Sacramento Area

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Emmerald Evans

“One of the biggest things I wish I had going through the foster care system is consistency. You can’t grow without consistency and stabilization. There is no way that a person is going to find who they are when going from home to home…” 

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Luz Hernandez

Luz was brought to the U.S. by her father at age 14 from Honduras without authorization. Rather than attending school, she worked 12 hour shifts and gave every penny she earned to her father. According to Luz, “I worked two shifts every day, from 7am to 7pm in…

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Christina Torrez

In 2020, nothing has gone to plan. Whether it’s orange skies due to wildfires or closed public schools due to the pandemic, it has been a year where nothing seems to have gone right…

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