National Foster Care Month: Lone Star College System offers specialized services for foster youth

HOUSTON, TX -- National Foster Care Month is observed in May to honor foster care youth and families, raise awareness about the challenges children in the welfare system face, and highlight ways individuals can support those involved in the system.

Lone Star College System offers a specialized support network for students who grew up in the foster and adoptive care systems. The Navigators program provides resources to help these students successfully complete their degrees, including dedicated advising, counseling services, financial assistance, employment assistance, meal vouchers and access to the on-campus food pantry, technology support, transportation, and connections to external resources.

“Lone Star College System is committed to giving foster care youth the best chance at success through the Navigators program,” said Anabell Hernandez, LSCS coordinator, System Office Navigator. “From financial aid to food assistance, we are here to help you navigate the college experience from start to finish.”

Danielle Infortunio entered foster care as a teenager and struggled with a lack of stability while recovering from an abusive upbringing. When she turned 18, she found herself living in homeless shelters.

“I realized I just have to take care of myself and find my own resources,” she said. “Lone Star College-University Park helped prepare me a lot, and I feel like it shaped me to also be able to help others.”

Infortunio plans to complete her associate degree by the end of this summer. From there, she will transfer to the University of Houston-Clear Lake to complete her bachelor’s degree in psychology. She plans to ultimately earn a Ph.D., become a neuropsychologist and have her own private practice offering Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to help others work through their own traumas.

“I want to be able to go out there and help others,” Infortunio said. “I didn’t always get the help I needed, but there are people out there who are willing to help you and be there for you. No one deserves to go through life alone.”

Felisha Demerson holds an associate degree in education from LSC-North Harris and plans to attend the University of Houston-Downtown to complete her bachelor’s degree.

She recently published her book, “Rising Above: A Journey from Foster Care to Triumph,” about her experience overcoming the challenges she faced. She hopes it inspires other foster care youth and raises awareness about the foster care system.

“My time in foster care taught me how to be independent and determine on my own who I want to be and where I want to go,” Demerson said. “Everyone doesn’t have the same experience, but it made me a stronger person.”

Brittany Valdez entered the foster care system with her three younger siblings when she was 14 and started attending school consistently for the first time. Valdez still struggled with reading, writing and spelling by the time she enrolled at LSCS, but tutoring services, accommodations and patient professors helped her through it.

“I didn’t really have a childhood; I had to be an adult for my sisters,” she said. “When we got into foster care, it was the same thing: I had to protect them. I left foster care with mental health issues and trust issues, but Navigators showed me so much support and love.”

The Navigators program also helped Valdez figure out what life could look like after LSCS. She graduated from LSC-University Park this spring with an associate degree in nursing and hopes to transfer into Texas A&M University’s nursing program and become a pediatric RN.

“Navigators helped me when I was financially struggling, and that went a long way for me to be able to finish a semester,” Valdez said. “I had left my foster home, was just starting a job, and had no experience with life, but still wanted to go to school and finish my education.”

Learn more at LoneStar.edu/Navigators.

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