Texas: THRU Project- Helping Foster Teens Have a Safety Net As They Age Out

“Hundreds of displaced children in Texas have fallen through the cracks of the foster care system, but there are local organizations working to make sure some of those children have a safety net as they age out.

Robyn Parker, 26, connected with one of these organizations after years of instability in the system.

The first time her family was at the center of a child protective services case she was three years old, but she wasn’t removed from her family and put into a foster home until she was a teenager.

“Within six months. I was moved four times,” said Parker. “I was very angry as a teenager and sometimes I took it out on my foster parents. Sometimes I took it out on the foster girls that I was roomed with.”

Many other times, Parker felt she had to hide her emotions and feelings out of fear of not knowing where she would go next.

“I also had to contain myself because if I showed too much emotion or got too difficult, they could notice and send me away,” said Parker. “That was something I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to move anymore.”’

“Parker met Elaine Hartle when she was 17 years old and connected with the THRU Project, a non-profit that supports San Antonio and surrounding area foster youth as they age out of the system.

It turned out to be a life-changing experience. Hartle asked Parker to mentor foster teens in a similar situation.

Parker finished high school, graduated from college and started working for the THRU Project.

“I didn’t quite see myself reaching this point in my life,” said Parker. “I thought it was going to end in a more negative note. I’m just grateful to have the opportunities that I have.””

Growing up in foster care: ‘You want to be normal and you can’t,’ San Antonio woman says

[KSAT 8/30/21 by RJ Marquez and Lexi Salazar]

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