Michaela Sanderson grew up in a house with no water and very little food but plenty of mold and roaches. When she was 8 years old, her 16-year-old sister and mother figure passed away. When she was 11 years old, she watched her mother pull out a gun and attempt suicide.
Although the bullet only grazed her mother’s stomach, it was enough to cause the state to intervene and take Sanderson away.
Now a freshman at the University majoring in social work and communication studies, Sanderson has experienced many difficulties growing up, but she said it was those difficult experiences that gave her a desire to pursue college and succeed.
“I knew what it was like for a family to grow up with nothing,” she said. “I wanted better for myself and knowing what I want to be, I wanted to pursue college.”
UA graduates Catie and Jamie Lumpkin have been foster parents in Birmingham for 12 years. In addition to their three biological sons, the Lumpkins have cared for 18 children over the course of those years.
For the Lumpkins’ 10-year-old foster daughter, attending college would make her the first person of her biological family to earn a higher education.
“Education makes a huge difference,” Catie Lumpkin said. “We tell our 10-year-old daughter who has been with us for almost three years now that she could go to college one day, and we will do what it takes to help her get there.”
Unfortunately, success stories such as Sanderson’s and the Lumpkins’ are often rare.
“For some families, foster care can become a cycle,” Catie Lumpkin said. “Some of the parents were in foster care and now their children are too. Practically, education is a big turn around for them.”
Less than 60 percent of students in foster care graduate high school and only 3 percent of children who have been in foster care attend post-secondary education after high school, according to the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention.
These statistics are what Alabama Reach, a new program launched this summer, hopes to change. Alabama Reach seeks to be a resource for students who are currently or formally foster youth, orphans, emancipated minors, wards of the state or homeless youth by providing a supportive environment on campus.
The program currently has 17 active students in it and is funded primarily by the University, but it also relies on grants and donations.
Studies show 70 percent of people in foster care have the desire to go to college, but only 25 percent actually enroll, and only 2 to 3 percent of that actually graduate, said Jameka Hartley, program coordinator of Alabama Reach.
“Financial aid does not cover everything,” Hartley said. “[Foster children] often do not have a safety net or someone to call. When an emergency happens, they can be become more worried about eating and paying rent than about school stuff. We want to help keep those emergencies from happening.”
Hartley said it can make all the difference for the student to know they are not alone.
Alabama Reach works as a three-fold program – Reach Back for future students, Reach Up for current students and Reach Out for community members. Reach Out includes a mentoring aspect, where students can be paired with an adult to be a mentor for them.
“The reason I am interested in the mentoring program is because I was required to get a mentor before,” Sanderson said. “I loved her and building a relationship with anyone is awesome. You never know what kind of advice you could get.”
Like Alabama Reach, the Lumpkins are trying to change the statistics as well.
“The reality is that there is definitely a reputation for foster care,” Catie Lumpkin said. “And there is a reality that things are really broken here. The biggest thing that we try to reinforce is that this is a partnership with the parents. We want to get them back on their feet, and we aren’t trying to sabotage them.”
Catie Lumpkin said they try to create a home that is uncharacteristic of stereotypical foster homes. They always strive to reunite the child with his or her biological family. Adoption is a last resort, she said.
“I don’t think there is a higher thing to do for a mom who has given up than to be able to look her in the eyes and tell her she can do it and that we believe in her,” Catie Lumpkin said. “We say to her, you know we are here for you and we will fight for you as long as you are fighting for yourself. When we have a choice to make with discipline, we will sometimes call momma and ask how we should do it, because we are doing life with them.”
The Lumpkins keep in touch with the children and families even after they are no longer in their care.
“We talk to a lot of the families, and from what I have gathered that is not normal, but we make it a priority,” she said. “We take food to all our past families once or twice a month and make sure they have food and find out how they are doing. We have taken some of our past kids to church with us.”
Catie Lumpkin said a program like Alabama Reach can have a big impact on a child’s life.
“The fact is these kids have so much life experiences and so much they can bring to the table,” she said. “They know sorrow, they know joy, and they know how to fight through difficulty and triumph. They are told all their lives that they could never be more, but to have someone tell them they can do it, is huge.”
