LIFE IN FOSTER CARE.
In the Spring of 2018, I moved into a group home residence to document six teens currently in the Florida foster care SYSTEM. Alongside THE SAILFUTURE staff - I mentored, assisted and fostered this group of at-risk teens for a period of 6 months, all while learning / Preparing for an international Sailing race to Mexico.
ROLE
DOCUMENTARY JOUrnalism, WRITING, DIRECTING, SAILING, motion design, FILMMAKING, child rearing
CLIENT — SAILFUTURE, EP — HUNTER THOMPSON, PM — MADDIE MANLOVE, FOUNDER — MICHAEL LONG
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
SAILFUTURE is an innovative welfare program that offers at risk youth’s in the juvenile justice system, an alternative to incarceration.
It is deeply rooted in the philosophy: for youth to make transformational changes, they must be engaged in transformational experiences.
It combines foster care with challenging sailing expeditions, the mission to empower and present opportunity for them to inspire judges, public defenders, state attorneys - to think twice before sentencing someone to prison
A chance to inspire people to believe in the human potential to change.
LIFE IN FOSTER CARE.
I was tasked to a create a series of photographs and short films to help the team fundraise over the span of three months.
Documenting and publicizing a project as sensitive as this one requires a certain kinda of diligence, each subject holds an unique story and more than likely a repressed experience from it.
Writing - FPO - Needs Revisions
that highlighted the resilience, grit, and humanity of these young men fighting to break the foster care to prison pipeline.
At the same time trying to get acquainted with them, earning their trust and loyalty. Getting them to engage with me enough to where they felt comfortable to tell their stories and reveal past hardships and regrets. In order for them to tell me their story, I need to tell them mine. I needed to be real and let them in. When I came to live with these young men, I was very ignorant, I had very little patience. However, when I saw the depths of their pains and challenges and I saw the highs of their glories; I came to realize how important it was to understand their past - in order to understand their present mindset, behavior and outlook on life. To say the least, I have never experienced anything like it.
Tionne W.
At 14 years old he was facing 55 years in prison. Growing up, everyone in his life told him that he would wind up dead or in jail. Tionne, bounced from group home to group home; Living with uncertainty, he never unpacked his bag of clothes. because he ultimately knew they wouldn't let him stay. “I’ve never had a place to call home” TIonne Shares. The expectations people set for him eventually became his own, and he got caught up in a robbery gone bad. Today he is free, grinding every day to graduate high school early with honors.
Zack L.
13 he was placed into foster care after losing his mom to a drug overdose. Zack has never had a placement he could call home. He turned to the streets to find acceptance. He joined a gang, which led him down a road of violence, drug addiction and incarceration. One night changed his life forever. His best friend was shot and died in his arms. Zack realized he had to change, or wouldn't make it out alive. Today, Zack is on track to enroll in college this fall, and plans to run his own business one day.
He made a promise to his mom before she passed away — to be the first person in his family to graduate college.
Zack NOW attends USF Tampa
