NFYI Congressional Foster Youth Shadow Day — Advocacy to Outcome
Work of Service · May 2018
In May 2018, Kim was one of 100 former foster youth selected nationwide for the National Foster Youth Institute's (NFYI) 7th Annual Congressional Foster Youth Shadow Day, a Capitol Hill program pairing former foster youth with their local Members of Congress to advocate for child welfare reform. Kim was paired with Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) and continued the relationship beyond Shadow Day, meeting with him again at his Walnut Creek District Office Hours.
Reflection
Shadow Day is where advocacy stopped being abstract for me. Standing in a room while Nancy Pelosi addressed a group of former foster youth — people who'd lived what she was talking about, not just studied it — was the moment I understood that lived experience and policy access aren't separate tracks; they can compound. Turning a single meeting on the Hill into a follow-up relationship, and then into real funding for kids in the system I'd once been part of, taught me that advocacy work has to be relentless and specific — a thank-you letter and a good first impression don't move money, sustained follow-through does.
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