By: Heather Tijerina
Do you remember when you purchased your first car? It felt like freedom, it felt like independence, and all you saw was the open road ahead. For many former foster youth, owning a car isn’t just about convenience. It’s a crucial step toward stability, employment, and self-sufficiency.
In the first three months of 2025, we have been honored to serve three youth in matching their down payments toward a car purchase. Through our Keys to Success program, former foster youth in our region can apply to have their down payment on a car matched, up to $3,000. This program began in mid-2023, and each year more and more youth apply for this match. Why? Because there are virtually no other programs that offer this support.
Many teens and young adults outside foster care can lean on family support for their first car purchase. Or they have family support while they get a part-time job and save money. Unfortunately, while youth are in foster care they often cannot take on part-time jobs due to foster placement constraints or other support system limitations. When our Keys to Success program first launched, it was to empower foster youth to strive towards the same dreams as their peers. We knew that matching down payments would offer access to a car. But as it turns out, it offers so much more: an ignition of dreams.
Beyonce is a young lady who has been receiving services through our Life Set program for over a year. She has been in foster care since she was young, and when she turned 18, she had limited support. Her best chance of success was to remain in extended care, a program that offers continued foster care until age 21. Last year, she realized she would be reaching the end of extended care in 2025, and the reality of this exit loomed ahead. Beyonce and I worked together throughout the year, building goals for education, employment, financial health, self-care, and transportation. When she submitted her application for Keys to Success, we discussed in detail her budget, her income, and her plan for maintaining a car and insurance. She demonstrated her commitment to saving money, checking in with me each week to talk about her paycheck, her hours, and yes- even her withholdings, a topic we all know and love! Throughout these conversations, I could hear Beyonce’s tone changing. When we first met, her goals were short-term and immediate. As January 2025 came and went, her tone shifted to months in the future and a snowball effect of the positive consequences of her hard work. She is committed to a dream for her future. The day she got her car, she sent me a message saying, “I hope you all know this has been one of my dreams.” Our youth deserve to dream and they deserve to know that their dreams are possible. Keys to Success puts a key in their hands and encourages them to keep moving towards their dreams. And it does more than that…It offers an open door to independence.
Armando, our second Keys to Success recipient this year, found himself a stable job and housing, despite the dismal statistics for aged-out foster youth. What he couldn’t count on was stable transportation. Promised rides from friends and co-workers sometimes fell through, and public transportation or ride-share programs could be unpredictable due to inclement weather or traffic. At 20 years old, Armando was doing his best to navigate all the systems but recounted being stuck on grocery trips or laundromat trips with his arms full but no transportation. His employment was constantly in jeopardy if he couldn’t find a friend to take him to work. It can feel very disheartening when your dreams of independence can so easily dissolve based on forces outside of your control. Armando applied for our Keys to Success program because he knew his open door to independence was just on the other side of these car keys. What a gift it is to help youth gain independence, not because we want it for them, but because they want it for themselves. And Keys to Success does not stop there…it offers a blank page of a brand new chapter of life, one for which they hold the pen and can write their own story.
Esmeralda, like many former foster youth, is working hard to chase her dream of a college education. She initially attended a small college to get her basic courses done and then transferred to a larger university to complete her degree in communications. She has been diligent and steadfast, keeping her sights set on the prize. When COVID hit, a fund emerged to help her purchase a car, so she jumped on the chance and got a car. She was careful to make sure she took care of the car well. She was doing all the right things. Unfortunately, her car was stolen during her first semester at a larger university and by the time it was located, the car had been completely dismantled and totaled. Heartbroken, Esmeralda didn’t think she would ever have another chance to purchase a car. Thankfully, Foster Angels of South Texas has been an ongoing support for Esmeralda throughout the years, and she heard about our Keys to Success program. When she applied, she was focused on action and goals. She had a clear vision for herself and her future. Esmeralda even boarded an eight-hour bus ride to return to the Coastal Bend to purchase her car; I don’t know many 20-year-olds who keep this type of unwavering focus on their goals. As she signed the paperwork, surrounded by the support group she had built for herself, Esmeralda talked about learning to trust the process and have faith in those who support you. When I asked her what she thought about the Keys to Support program, her voice lilted with hope and light. I do not doubt that as she completes her degree, she will keep writing her own story filled with hope and light. And I hope others know they deserve to do the same.
Do you remember your first car? Do you remember the feeling? Whether it came to you through a strong support system, or by way of your hard work, do you remember wrapping your hands around the wheel for the first time? What a blessing it is that we can assist foster youth in reaching this milestone and knowing they are deserving of the same dreams as anyone else. We don’t always know what awaits on the road before us, what twists and turns may come. But we do know that more support is always better, and Foster Angels is here to support dreams and goals.
