My name is Nathalea Sky. I’m a young mother of 6 children from New York City, and a young parent leader with experience in foster care. I am working with different organizations to advocate for better support for young people and young parents in my community. I am currently advocating with the Brighter Futures Workgroup (an initiative of the Center of the Study of Social Policy), Young United Parents (YUP!), Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) NYC, and Youth Communication. I got involved in advocacy work while connecting with CASA volunteers and asking for advice on how to use my voice to raise awareness of issues and make changes in the foster care system. The CASA volunteer supported me in joining the CASA Youth Advisory Board, which was my first experience speaking on panels to share my experiences and recommendations on supporting young people during difficult times instead of labeling them as “troublemakers.” I was vocal about how the adults supporting young people must be willing to “ride the boat no matter how much it is sinking” when helping young people. It takes time to cultivate a trusting relationship with a young person who may be experiencing trauma. Show compassion, lead with the heart, and do not punish young people for circumstances out of their control.
After joining the CASA Youth Advisory Board, I connected with more organizations like the Center for the Study of Social Policy. I am most proud of training the New York City Administration of Children Services and provider agencies staff on the Know Your Rights website. The Know Your Rights website is a resource hub created by young parents in NYC with lived experience in foster care to inform young people and young parents about their rights and resources, such as aging out of care, navigating court, sexual and reproductive health, co-parenting, and more. The training provides the workers with a tool to stay up-to-date on youth resources, and how to share rights information directly with young people. The website is in accessible language so young people can navigate the information independently and use it as a self-advocacy tool. The training component for youth workers has helped me get out of my comfort zone and improve my public speaking skills. Each time I get a chance to train or present, I get clearer in my delivery, tone, and messaging. I also got better at collaborating with co-presenters and engaging with the audience of youth workers. In addition to connecting with youth workers, I am passionate about connecting with young parents and helping them realize they are not alone in their experiences. I recently was a guest in the YUP! the Podcast: Parenting While Healing. Healing is a journey, and I learned so much from it. I want to empower other young parents to take charge of their healing journey.
Through my various projects with organizations, I learned these different skills:
- Be consistent. It is easy to get discouraged at times, overwhelmed, and feel like there is no progress. What keeps me going? I think of my children, future grandchildren, and the world I would love to see them live in. My work is for the generations that come after me, and if we all have a defeated mentality, we won’t be able to move the needle forward.
- Be strategic in communicating. Sometimes, it can be overlooked what skills young advocates have or don’t have. Every young person comes in with various life experiences and exposure to work settings. I did not know I had to change my communication method when I was writing a text versus an email. This is one example of the small things that make the difference. I am more confident in navigating the dos and don’ts of working with nonprofits. What helped was being open to pointers from my peers who have been doing advocacy longer and to support and feedback from staff.
- Understand others’ perspectives. When I first started this work, I did not understand the struggle of fathers in exercising their rights, especially if the parents are no longer romantically involved. Although all young parents in foster care have their unique challenges, it was eye-opening how young fathers can be left out of programming support and not recognized or seen as an integral part of the family. Protecting both parents’ rights and having a healthy co-parenting relationship is important for the child’s well-being.