詹妮弗·k·森田著

2024年4月22日

Ten 萨克拉门托 State students will receive $500 a month for a year thanks to the 统一的方式 California Capital Region’s new Collegiate Guaranteed Income Program for former foster youth.

统一的方式 4月20日，在萨克拉门托纪念礼堂（萨克拉门托 Memorial Auditorium）举行的“团结一心”（United in Purpose）晚会上，该学院宣布了这一新项目，令观众中的学生们大吃一惊。

The students, who are part of 囊状态’s 卫报学者计划 for former foster youth, cheered and wiped away tears at the unexpected news.

“It’s surreal to know I have these funds to feel secure and not have that worry so I can focus on my grades instead of finances,” said Jaliyah, one of the student recipients, after the gala. “To have a team of people who care about you when you’ve grown up feeling like nobody cares about you, and to have strangers love you and uplift you to push you to be your greatest, you can’t match that.

“I’m beyond ecstatic and beyond thankful.”

根据美国国家寄养青年研究所的数据，美国每年有超过2.3万名青少年脱离寄养系统。 只有3%到4%的人拥有大学学位。

“It’s not a handout, it’s a hand up. Education was my ladder out of poverty, so it’s important to be able to give others the opportunity to finish and to lift themselves out of poverty.” -- Dawnté Early, 统一的方式 California Capital Region president and CEO

住房 and food insecurity as well as unexpected financial needs are among the reasons former foster youth who enroll in college don’t finish, said Linda Howe-Ram, Guardian Scholars’ director of Foster and Community Youth Initiatives.

“Not having a family support system to fall back on in times of financial need is one of the biggest barriers students who have experienced foster care encounter,” she said.

2020年CalYOUTH的一项研究显示，在接受调查的前加州寄养青年中，有四分之一的人在21岁至23岁之间无家可归。 另有28%的人说他们喜欢沙发冲浪。

此外，28.2%的上大学的前寄养青年符合粮食不安全标准。

“I was once a foster youth myself, so I understand firsthand the immense challenges this population faces in pursuing higher education,” 囊状态 President Luke Wood said. “Too often, students who were in the foster care system lack the financial and emotional support structures that many of their peers take for granted.”

伍德在萨克州立大学（囊状态）读书时，有时会睡在自己的车里。他经常说自己要找零钱买食物，几天不吃东西，这让他很难集中精力上课。

“This groundbreaking partnership with 统一的方式 reflects our community’s deep commitment to empowering these resilient scholars and ensuring they have the resources to not just survive but thrive on their academic journeys,” Wood said. “This program will alleviate some of the financial burden, allowing our students to focus wholeheartedly on their studies and personal growth.”

统一的方式 California Capital Region has served Amador, El Dorado, Placer, 萨克拉门托 and Yolo counties since 1923 with literacy programs, housing and food security assistance and the region’s largest tax preparation initiative.

统一的方式 also launched 萨克拉门托’s first guaranteed income program in 2021 to help struggling residents make ends meet amid the rising cost of living. 2023年，该组织收到了1.5万份申请，申请80个名额。

“There’s an immense need,” said Dawnté Early, 统一的方式 California Capital Region president and CEO. “It can be pretty startling when you quantify it. A lot of families out there are hurting right now with inflation, high rent and the high cost of gas.”

在听到伍德在萨克州立大学读书时如何挣扎于住房和食品不安全之后，厄尔利说，向以前的寄养青年伸出援手似乎是很自然的。

（故事在照片下面继续。）

“Our ultimate mission is to end poverty, and we can do that by investing in education,” Early said. “We have programs for kids starting at birth, so it felt only relevant and necessary to have a program that helps former foster youth as they transition into college.”

每月的支票将从5月开始发放，学生们可以根据自己的需要使用这笔钱。 这个想法是为了帮助他们支付基本需求，这样他们就可以集中精力完成学业，而不是工作更长时间来养家糊口或支付房租。 《卫报》学者项目主任豪拉姆说，学生必须达到特定的标准才能被选中参加这个项目。 

“It’s not a handout, it’s a hand up,” Early said. “Education was my ladder out of poverty, so it’s important to be able to give others the opportunity to finish and to lift themselves out of poverty.”

大学生收入保证项目的资金将来自妇女联合，这是一个联合之路行动组织，20多年来一直致力于帮助培养青少年。

“As a former foster youth myself, I didn’t have parents or family to lean on as I pursued higher education,” said September Hargrove, 统一的方式 board liaison for Women United and JPMorgan Chase executive director of community banking for Northern California.

“I didn’t want to go to my high school graduation because I knew I didn’t have folks in the audience to cheer me on. 我们想让这些学生知道，有一群女性和整个社区都在为他们加油。

“You’re constantly reminded that you don’t have the security, you don’t have the stability or the family support. 教育是一条可以打开许多大门和机会的途径。 We wanted to help former foster youth transition into obtaining higher education.”

厄尔利和哈格罗夫表示，他们希望将大学保证收入计划扩展到该地区的其他学院和大学。

社会学专业的阿丽莎想上法学院，她说她经常质疑自己是否应该去萨克州立大学。

“But when I have opportunities like this, it reinforces to me that I’m doing something that will change not just my life but other people’s,” Alisha said. “My purpose is to help other people, so they’re able to move forward and succeed.”

学生们表示，这笔钱将帮助他们支付食物、书籍和学费。

“It will also help me out with gas,” said Asia, a Business student who commutes to 囊状态 from West 萨克拉门托. “I have a husband and a year-and-a-half old daughter, and we live in a small, one-bedroom apartment.”

学生Deja说，负担得起的住房是前寄养青年面临的最大问题之一。

“It’s devastating how many foster youth, who are transitioning out of being in the system and now have to find homes … are not getting access to those facilities,” she said. “A lot of students live with their parents and have support from their families, but foster youth just don’t have that opportunity.”

凯特琳既工作又全职上学，她说这笔额外的钱可以让她减少工作时间，这样她就可以专注于学习。

“That’s amazing,” she said. “I’ll get to experience what it’s like to be a college student.”

对于学生们来说，“同心协力”晚会也是一个难得的机会，他们可以盛装打扮，与萨克州立大学的家人共度一个夜晚。 妇女联合会为学生们提供了购买活动服装的资金。

“I didn’t get to go to prom because I couldn’t really afford it, so dressing up was really nice, like I’m going somewhere,” Jeneses said. “It made me feel important.”

更新（2024年5月2日）： Dawnté Early, 统一的方式 California Capital Region president and CEO, distributed the first round of checks to students to mark the 给予的大日子, a 24-hour, community-wide event to raise funds for local nonprofits. 请看活动视频.

更新（4月7日） 2025): 在2025年4月5日的年度晚会上，联合劝募基金会宣布，学生们将通过大学保证收入计划获得额外一年的资金，直到2026年4月。