Brook Burlando: This is My Home
By age 15 I had stumbled onto a genius trick. All I needed to say was that I wanted to kill myself and I’d be placed into a hospital. When I was a psych patient, I wasn’t a foster kid.
What’s in that box?
Ralph has a deep voice, a huge smile, and a gentle spirit. He is a kind and gracious man who commands your attention. Ralph wanted love and acceptance throughout his childhood. Nobody ever wanted Ralph.
Ralph’s story begins at age two when a social worker took him and his brother Sam away from their parents. They stayed in the homes of various friends and temporary families until he was four. His father came to visit them. His dad loved him. He still doesn’t understand why he could not go back to live with his parents, or why his Mom lost him and his brother to the court system.
Pieces: A story of Aging Out of Foster Care
Candace says her life has been like an earthquake. Picture everything shaking until great cracks appear and then widen into impassable chasms. Broken apart. This year is different, however. She says that right now, things are starting to be put back together.
How to record clear audio on a mobile phone
How to record clear audio on a mobile phone Originally published on International Journalists’ Network 9/13/12 by Lindsay Kalter Mobile reporting skills are becoming a prerequisite for many journalism jobs and assignments. Reporters should know how to capture sound to use in web and broadcast reports, or to simply record interviews to transcribe into text later. While it’s simple [...]
Ethiopia : At the Confluence of Intention, Resources, and Action
In October 2010 I traveled to Ethiopia withSalaamGarage to profile the childbirth injury of Obstetric Fistula. I was touched by the stories that I heard at Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa and by the Ethiopians whom I met. I wondered what solutions might be possible for the women with the saddest stories, especially those whose fistula repair surgeries were not successful. These women have little hope for a viable future.
The Aging Out of Foster Care Book is on Fire!
Our Everybody Needs Someone book is on fire! We only have about 50 copies left from the first run of the book. Buy it now and support our project so we can order another run! What happens when youth age out of the foster care system in the NYC area? Everybody Needs Somebody takes a [...]
A Family Found: Elijah’s Story
Not every foster child finds a family. The forgotten ones grow up alone in the faceless embrace of bureaucracy. Waiting and wishing, like runts in a litter of kittens staring hopelessly out of an emptying box. Elijah Callender is one of those people. Like the others, the state covered his eyes and clutched him tightly until his 21st birthday. Then it dropped him.
Purpose and Faith Give Krista Strength
Story by Mollie Neal Photography by Heather Walsh Krista spends her working hours tending to a woman with dementia in an assisted living facility. Like so many health-care aides, she is a nurturing soul. Some would call it ironic that this is her job. She spent most of her childhood being shuttled from one foster [...]
Failing Is Not an Option: Richard’s Story
Story by Jim Sewastynowicz and Patricia Paine Photos by Jim Sewastynowicz Richard Wilkerson has no regrets about growing up in the foster care system. In fact, he believes that his experience as a teenager in various group homes has given him a powerful gift—one of understanding and connecting with people who also have hardships to overcome. [...]
With Foster Care Just a Memory, Nefertiti Pursues Her Destiny
Photography by Amelia Coffaro Story by Vanessa Arriola Wide-eyed and smiling, 24-year-old Nefertiti is anxiously awaiting news from the Borough of Manhattan Community College. “I won’t hear back until March or April,” she says, struggling at times to get out the words, “but I can’t wait that long.” Nefertiti dreams of being a social worker [...]
13 days to go! SGNYC Kickstarter Needs Your Help
ONLY 13 days to go to raise $9,700 for the SalaamGarageNYC project Everybody Needs Someone, Aging-Out of Foster Care on Kickstarter. We love that already we have 69 donors and 802 “likes”. Crowdfunding is pretty cool and also pretty scary. But we need a lot more still to succeed. Today we are adding new perks [...]
Teddie’s Transience
Story and Photography by Moya McAllister Teddie is a 21 year old trans-gender youth with arresting, long-lashed sherry-brown eyes. Soft-spoken, with a nervous laugh, he favors illustrated cartoon-and-grafitti-style caps and clothes that blend into the area of Chelsea where we decide to meet. Kicked out of his mother’s home at the age of 14 by [...]
Earning A College Degree is an Elusive Dream for Most Former Foster Youth: Renald’s Story
Story by Mollie Neal Photography by Heather Walsh Renald is a quiet, soft-spoken 22-year-old living in his first apartment and attending college. Adjusting to independence and adult responsibilities can be challenging for any young person, especially if there is no immediate family or mentor to turn to for guidance and support. Renald had a traditional [...]
Latest NYC Meetup. Photo Editing Session for LICM Exhibition
The SalaamGarageNYC team was in full photo editing mode at the latest NYC Meetup. We are getting ready for the Everybody Needs Someone, Aging-Out of Foster Care in NY Book and Exhibition. It is hard work picking images and text from this adult project that explores what happens when youth age out of the foster [...]
The Key to Independence: Dmitriy’s Story
Story by Mollie Neal Photography by Heather Walsh At 21, Dmitriy aged out of the foster care system on Long Island. While many young adults in the same situation are uneducated, unemployed and homeless, he has a high school diploma, a full-time job and an apartment to call home. Dmitriy‘s life has been fraught with [...]
Sky’s the Limit: Andre’s Story
Story by Patricia Paine Photos by Matthew Furman Andre Carter is a friendly 21-year-old who masks his difficult upbringing with an offhand snicker. The details are foggy as he recounts his start in the foster care program. As early as Andre remembers, his father was responsible for him and his two younger brothers. But since [...]
Never Look Back: Brandon’s Story
Photography By Robert Hooman Story by Brandon Kolin as told to Dimitra Kessenides “God doesn’t give you anything that you can’t handle,” says Brandon Kolin, 27, a Brooklyn, New York-based dental surgery technician who wound up in foster care at age 8. “There’s something in every situation that you have to latch on to, whether [...]
[Seattle] Gearing up for 2012! Discuss news & next steps: 1/23/12.
We’re getting 2012 underway with our second Meetup dedicated to Aging Out of Foster Care, it’s going to be a bright year and an incredible project! We’re excited to tell everyone the scoop on moving forward; we’ve good news about opportunities to work with Seattle’s inspiring and proactive Mockingbird Society, plus planning our next steps setting [...]
[SGLocal:Seattle] Gearing up for 2012! Discuss news & next steps: 1/23/12.
We’re getting 2012 underway with our second Meetup dedicated to Aging Out of Foster Care, it’s going to be a bright year and an incredible project! We’re excited to tell everyone the scoop on moving forward; we’ve good news about opportunities to work with Seattle’s inspiring and proactive Mockingbird Society, plus planning our next steps setting Aging Out of Foster Care into action. We’re in awe of all the progress we’ve seen come from the New York chapter and bolstered by our already gaining support in Seattle.
Stepping Stones to Independence, Fekri’s Journey
Story By Tommy Hallissey Photography by Bruce Byers Fekri from Bruce Byers on Vimeo. Without a word, Fekri’s disarming, toothy smile betrays the suffering he endured coming of age in the New York City foster care system. Those crooked pearly whites hide the agony of being sold into slavery in Tunisia at the age of [...]
Get it Out! How to start a Blog or a Website
You have projects to share and stories to tell. Getting started is hard and intimidating. This article might make it harder because there are so many choices. But I know you can do it. Start a Blog. Blogs can be linear and journal-like or they can act like a webpage for a single subject. You [...]
SalaamGarage presenting to Microsoft on December 10, 6:30-8pm!
Amanda Koster, documentary photographer and SalaamGarage founder speaking at Microsoft in Redmond Washington on December 10, 2009 from 6:30pm-10pm. Talk is about how participants on SalaamGarage trips create and disperse unique, independent social media that raises awareness and causes positive change in the world.
