MYN Digital Stories: Deonate Cruz

Advocacy and Leadership

Being in foster care left me with a lack of many skills that other youth either had or were given the opportunity to acquire.

Because I wasn't able to experience the world in a healthy way, I had many social barriers and lacked communication and leadership skills. Through my time in foster care I was rarely presented with opportunities to gain or build upon these skills. Something changed though when I was 18. I was hired at The Mockingbird Society as a Network Representative and given a chance to develop and build upon leadership, social, and public speaking skills through advocacy. Through my interaction with other youth, trainings, telling my story, and educating the public on why we need to change the system, I can now say that I am an exceptional leader and advocate, not just for others, but also for myself.