Raven Shares Her Lived Experience to Help Others
“This book was written to shed light on the foster care experience for children . . . You are not alone!”
Raven Washington spent years in and out of foster care and dealing with homelessness while she seeked a permanent place of love and belonging. She didn’t want to be on the street or in the system, but her circumstances at home left her no choice.
It was incredibly difficult, but after years of instability she was hired by CV at age 21 as a Direct Care staff member working in a cottage, and today serves as a Behavior Specialist in the Adoption and Foster Care Division. She makes an impact by using her lived experience to help others. “I’m supposed to be helping these kids and be a good example. I feel blessed to share my own experiences with them.”
In 2019, Raven took inspiration from her life to write and self-publish a children’s book, “Because I Have No Shoes”— a short story based on the perceptions of a 7 year-old boy and his understanding of why he is entering the foster care system, and what that process was like for him. She says “this book was written to shed light on the foster care experience for children and their perception of why and how they sometimes feel going through this process. You are not alone!”
Raven continues to put her story into writing, and she also aspires to one day start her own nonprofit working with kids in Foster Care. As she puts it, “my cure is working with these kids.”
You can own your own copy of “Because I Have No Shoes”! Purchase it here from Amazon. Go through Amazon Smile and be sure to set The Children’s Village as your preferred charity.
Raven was one of a few key voices in CV’s 170th anniversary Milestone Video, outlining its history, current work, and future. Click here to watch!
