Operation Achieve Independence Mentoring Fostered Youth to be Successful Adults

SPRING, TX -- Operation: Achieve Independence (OAI) mentors youth in foster care group homes with the resources and tools to be successful independent adults serving the community. Youth age out of the foster care system at 18 and without significant positive role models are likely to quit attending high school, rely on drugs or alcohol to alleviate anxiety, be homeless, or become a parent themselves at a young age, relying on government assistance repeating the cycle of life they are familiar with as a child themselves.

Many youth that age out of foster care suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and without help become combative with difficulty coping with life challenges.

Tina James founded OAI, a nonprofit organization in 2017 after life experiences with disadvantaged youth in San Antonio, Waxahachie, and Haiti. She learned from her sister-in-law about a place in Austin, Community First, an organization helping the homeless community by walking hand in hand with individuals to change lives. This inspired her to prayerfully consider building a program with the right people to play a role in training, elevating, and inspiring young adults in the system before they age out.

“Josh Shipp said, ‘We believe each foster child is one caring adult away from success,’ and it’s a quote we live by at OAI” said Tina James, President of OAI. “OAI now offers programs in life skills training for young adults aging out of foster care, a one-on-one mentor program for children in group homes, foster homes and youth who have already aged out, and a Trauma Training Program”.

Volunteers serve inside a few local group homes and local school districts, meeting with mentees once each week to develop a relationship as a safe adult to turn to as needed while developing essential skills to become a successful independent contributing adult to the community. In addition, OAI has two programs on trauma to help churches, caregivers, or businesses working with disadvantaged youth. The first one is a 4- hour introductory training titled ‘A Guide to the Impact of Trauma.’ This introductory training educates caregivers on the most proper way to approach trauma in the children that they serve.

The 2nd program, Trauma Competent Caregiving is a nine-module extensive training to equip caregivers with supportive resources to help youth feel safe, learn to have healthy relationships, and ways to modify behaviors.

OAI has hired their first full-time staff individual, Nicole Davis, as their Program Director and is excited to announce their new Board of Directors and their fundraising gala “Changing the Odds” set to take place on October 21, 2022, at Shirley Acres in Houston. The “Changing the Odds” Gala will raise needed funds to support their mentoring programs, Trauma Informed Training, Life Skills Training and help with a future transitional housing project. Early bird tickets are available for $100 until September 1st and can be purchased at https://bit.ly/3nGbMB5. Sponsorship opportunities are available at https://bit.ly/3Ijdp0N.

Meet the New Directors:

Royce James, Tina’s husband is a Board Director, who with his wife and daughter operate Royce James Construction. He will be overseeing the building of the new transitional housing facility as it develops. Board Director Stacy Syring is OAI’s Secretary/Treasurer who has a career as a Senior Software Consultant in the Information Technology industry for CGI, the largest IT and business consulting services firms in the world. James Smith is a former Manager of Customer Services and a foster parent and adoptive parent. He has seen firsthand the damage that has come from young adults leaving the foster care system too early, when they are completely unequipped with basic life skills. He comes to OAI with a basic goal; to help children transition to independent, self-supporting, confident adults.

Other Board Directors include Jessica Parkison, who has fostered 5 children with her husband and was always concerned about lack of resources available to the youth aging out of foster care. Joe Korenek, a Vice President of Business Development has over 30 years’ experience in engineering, finance, and transactions serving the energy industry. Joe currently serves as a Board Member for the Texas A&M University Petroleum Ventures Program and the Houston Producers Forum. He hopes to utilize his business experience to help OAI grow its opportunity to serve the young adults in foster care. Joe’s wife, Lauri Korenek also serves on the Board of Directors as the Vice President, and the Mentor Coordinator for the organization. She brings a heart for service for young women who have been trafficked and will walk closely with Tina and Nicole to ensure the success of these young adults.

“Please support our youth in foster care by attending our gala, volunteering, or simply sharing the information about Operation: Achieve Independence”, urged Tina James.

Learn more about Operation Achieve Independence program and their upcoming event by visiting the website at OAIcares.org or visiting their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/oaicares. Nicole Davis may be reached at nicole@oaicares.org.

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