To watch a short video of this program, click here.
Foster kids are just like any other kind of kids… except that
they aren’t. That’s confusing, I know – let me explain.
Foster kids are just like any other kind of kids – meaning they
have the same needs, wants, desires as any other kid their age.
They require basic human needs: love, attention, food and
shelter. Foster kids are different from other kids in that they
sometimes don’t know where those basic needs will come from. They
can bounce from home to home, year after year, never knowing
permanency. With luck, they will get adopted out of the foster
care system. Unfortunately some kids don’t have that kind of
luck.
In Alameda County’s unincorporated neighborhoods of Cherryland
and Ashland the crime and unemployment rates are higher than
anywhere else in the county. Along with those alarming statistics
run the side effects of poor health and various public safety
concerns. So it may be surprising to some that the conversation
has turned to urban farming.
Nineteen-year-old Mitch Blake squints through the hot afternoon
sunlight at a gnarled tree limb overhanging a creekside path and
pushes his hard hat higher on his forehead. He signals two
members of his crew to come over and they discuss whether they
should break out the chainsaw or not. After a few minutes they
decide that the limb doesn’t need to come down quite yet but they
note its location to check on it later in the year.
Mile after mile, along the mountain roads of Tuolumne County, the
bus wound past stands of charred trees, a lunar landscape just
starting to show a few spots of green—the first signs of recovery
amid the devastation.
One of the best things about my duties as Technical Coordinator
is editing video. To capture and craft an interesting story
through other people’s words, while sometimes a challenge, is
extremely enjoyable and at the same time beneficial and valuable.
Each person has something to say – even if they don’t realize it
themselves – we just need to listen. Everyone has a unique take
on the world – and their experiences shape their knowledge.
