Hello, my name is Tami Barnett. I'm the Executive Director of RaisingHOPE. We are a nonprofit organization that works with youth who are aging out of the foster care system. One of our young adults who is very near and dear to our hearts is Evan. Here is his story in his own words:

"My name is Evan and im a former foster youth. Growing up I bumped into a little bit of everything from drugs, making money in dishonest ways, hanging out with the wrong crowd and the list goes on. I thought that that there was no changing my lifestyle until I was so broken I knew that I HAD to change everything. Raising hope has helped me make a complete transformation in my life wether it was from financial hardship, getting my car fixed or simply needing resources and referrals for counseling. Most recently I found myself stuck in the system yet again bouncing from rehabilitation program to shelters and back to sober livings and I couldn't escape it. No family would take me in and I felt as if a stable or normal life was too far out of reach. I found myself back in jail because I got kicked out of a program. The first person I thought to try and get a hold of was sharron from raising hope but I was embarrassed about my incarceration. We got in contact and there was no judgement, I still had my sobriety while in jail and she came to visit me with glass in between us and even though I was in blue and orange she told me how proud she is of me and I'll never forget that. Fast forward to today, raising hope funded my initial expenses to get an apartment of my own for the very first time and I also found out I'm going to be a Dad. Me and my girlfriend are happy and filled with hope and we know we're going to be able to provide for our new family. Thank you raising hope ! You helped me in times I couldn't even help myself. Me and my family are eternally grateful you were with me along my crazy and wild journey. Thank you for helping me get the life I've always dreamed of."

Evan is doing really well and his girlfriend recently gave birth to their daughter, Anaiyah, born in September 2024. Evan has been working as a window cleaner with dreams of starting his own business. This week, Evan fell two stories, off of a ladder, and onto concrete. He has a compression fracture in his back and a broken wrist. Evan is at Los Robles Hospital but will soon be released. It will take at least 6-8 weeks before he can work again. Meanwhile, RaisingHOPE has been assisting financially where we can, however, this little family's needs are larger than what we can provide. They will need rental assistance, food, gas to get to medical appointments for Evan and the baby, diapers, and more. Any physical donations can be sent to our mailing address (1534 N Moorpark Rd. Ste 213, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360) or physically dropped at the RaisingHOPE office (1077 Business Center Circle, Newbury Park, CA 91320 inside of Living Oaks Church).

Youth aging out of foster care have very little margin and an accident like this could very easily result in homelessness. We love this young family and we want to support them and keep their baby safe. Would you consider donating to keep them afloat these next few months? Donations can also be made directly to RaisingHOPE at raisinghope.org with the subject line "Evan" and we will make sure the donations are set aside for them.

Would you also be thinking of and praying for this family? They need all the support they can get as new parents and now with this major injury.

Thank you!

Tami and the RaisingHOPE Team