Christine Joseph
Christine Joseph is a vigorous young woman, raised in Canarsie, Brooklyn. She enjoys knitting, reading books while on the beach, and being a young mom to her five year old son. She became a mom at the age of 19 and knew it was time to make better decisions for herself and her son. Despite multiple foster home placements, getting suspended from schools, and surviving an unstable home environment, she was determined to continue her education. In 2021, she graduated from the Brooklyn Adult Education center. Today she advocates for single mothers. She is sharing her story so that young people don't feel like they're alone, and it allows her to bring awareness of some of the struggles transition age youth face. She created a healing page on Instagram to encourage others who are struggling to heal from their past or current situations. She currently works as a Youth Action Organizer with the Children's Defense Fund-New York. Christine Joseph demands change within the child welfare system, and she will continue to fight until we achieve better.
Recently, Christine led a briefing for our New York Congressional Delegation in Washington, DC, where she shared her expertise on the child welfare system. During the presentation, Christine said: “In 2020, More than 20,000 young adults aged out of foster care in the U.S. Young people who age-out of foster care are MORE likely than their peers to face homelessness, struggle to find work, and are less likely to finish high school or college. As someone who never really had a voice while I was in the system, I want to focus on how important it is that our laws change to make sure that we have ways to ensure that young people’s voices are heard. Many young people who age-out of foster care have experienced trauma, including physical and mental abuse but aren't able to speak out – like what happened to me. Mental health was a critical part of my journey through the system, and an area where I wish I had been given the opportunity to provide guidance and advice to the child welfare system so that it could improve.” That’s why Christine says: Nothing About Us Without Us – transition age youth need to be at the center of the change.