Goal
Our goal is to raise social awareness and shift negative perceptions; to recognize children and youth in care, like all young people, as individuals with talents, contributions, and dreams. We are a collective partnership of youth, service providers and allies working to challenge the stigma faced by children and youth in care by celebrating and honouring their awesomeness. We hope all British Columbians will join the celebration and gain the knowledge and tools to acknowledge and support our incredible young people in care every other week of the year, too.
History
A group of youth in and from care advocated for this week so their siblings in care could grow up feeling celebrated for their diverse talents and accomplishments, surrounded by a supportive community who stands with them. They also wanted to raise awareness about the barriers they face and fight the stigma that comes with being a “foster kid.”
Proclaimed by the province of British Columbia in 2011, BC Child and Youth in Care Week (BCCYICW) is a time for everyone in communities across the province to support and celebrate our province’s incredible, diverse young people in government care. Youth envisioned a week that acknowledges and celebrates the unique strength of young people in care, and that’s how BC Child and Youth in Care Week was created.
Read about two of the many former youth in care who advocated for the first ever BC Child and Youth in Care Week!
Proclaimed by the province of British Columbia in 2011, BC Child and Youth in Care Week (BCCYICW) is a time for everyone in communities across the province to support and celebrate our province’s incredible, diverse young people in government care. Youth envisioned a week that acknowledges and celebrates the unique strength of young people in care, and that’s how BC Child and Youth in Care Week was created.
Read about two of the many former youth in care who advocated for the first ever BC Child and Youth in Care Week!
-Hi there! My name is Amanda Frechette. I am a mom to my beautiful seven-year-old daughter. I was in government care from the time I was about 3 on and off until I turned 19. I can remember we were so tired of hearing about all the negative things that were happening to youth in government care. The media grabbed on to the negative stories and they outweighed the stories about youth who were successful, and who wanted to be seen for the positive things they had done. I think there were way more positive things happening for youth in government care than negative, and we wanted to be recognized and celebrated for what we have overcome! There are a lot of youth from care that have become extremely successful and its really neat to see that. I hated seeing the negative things, and now with BC Child and Youth in Care Week we celebrate youth in care for being awesome. Celebrating young people’s successes sure feels great. It makes other youth believe that they can be successful too, and that they can find their own unique talent and grow with it. I believe the celebrating youth in care is extremely important because it makes you believe in yourself, it makes you feel proud, and it makes you feel all of the support around you. -Amanda |
Tansi, Jessy Neal nits Kahsohn, Quesnel, BC Otchi Nia, Maka Mekwatch Surrey, BC ne wekin. Hello, my name is Jessy Neal. I am from Quesnel, BC but I live in Surrey, BC now. Niya Nehiyaw Iskwew. I am Cree Woman. I was raised in and out of care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development from birth to aging out at 19. When I was 14 I joined the Federation of BC Youth in Care Networks (a BC Child and Youth in Care Week partner organization) as a youth member and have had various roles since then, from volunteer, to board member, and now a staff member. I still remember feeling like being in government care was my fault and that I had done something bad to end up in care. It was ingrained in me that being in government care meant that I was less than human or not worth enough to anyone to be part of a family that cared about me. I didn’t think that it was fair for other young people, especially the younger ones, to feel like they were worthless and bad just because they were not able to live safely with their parents. It is rather an emotional subject, but with all the negative comments and media portrayals and statistics of kids not ending up in good situations or having good outcomes as adults, it made it easy to fall into a spiral of low self-esteem and self-worth. I, and so many others like me, wanted this to change. The Fed’s youth members (including me at the time) decided that some actions needed to be taken. Some youth members suggested that we create a way to celebrate all the successes of youth in and from government care to create more positive stories and conversations out there about youth in care. The government of BC supported this and made an official proclamation in the BC legislature that May 23-29, 2011 was BC Child and Youth in Care Week! Different MCFD offices and youth organizations across the province have been celebrating youth in and from care every year since. - Jessy |
*The BCCYICW 2023 Committee was made up of Young Adult Advisors and representatives from: Federation of BC Youth in Care Networks, Ministry of Children and Family Development, Public Guardian and Trustee of BC, McCreary Centre Society, TRRUST Collective Impact, Federation of Community Social Services of BC, BC Foster Parents Association, the Representative for Children and Youth, Ministry of Education, Elizabeth Fry Society, Aunt Leah’s Place, and Youth and Alumni of Care About Test
